Southern Lapwing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Southern Lapwing
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Charadriidae
Genus:	Vanellus
Species:	V. chilensis
Binomial name
Vanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782)

The Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is a large bird with long legs. Lapwings are a type of shorebird, meaning they often live near water. This bird is very common in Central and South America. You won't find it in the deep jungles of the Amazon or high up in the Andes. The Southern Lapwing is the national bird of Uruguay.

What Does It Look Like?

The Southern Lapwing is the only wader in South America that has a crest on its head. It is about 32 to 38 centimeters (13 to 15 inches) long. It weighs around 250 to 425 grams (9 to 15 ounces).

Its upper body is mostly brownish-grey. Its shoulders have a shiny bronze color. The head is quite special. It is mainly grey with a black forehead and throat. This black color continues down to its chest. A white line separates the black face from the grey head and crest. The rest of its underside is white. Its eye ring, legs, and most of its beak are pink.

This bird has special red, bony parts under its wings. These are called spurs. They use these spurs to scare away enemies and fight off birds that hunt them.

When the Southern Lapwing flies, it flaps its wings slowly. You can see a wide white bar on its wings. This bar separates the grey-brown of its back from its black flight feathers. Its rump (the lower back) is white, and its tail is black. The sound it makes is a very loud and harsh keek-keek-keek.

Different Kinds of Southern Lapwings

There are a few slightly different types, or subspecies, of the Southern Lapwing. They mostly differ in the color of their heads and the sounds they make. For example, the Vanellus chilensis fretensis from Patagonia is sometimes grouped with the main type, V. c. chilensis.

The types found further north, V. c. cayennensis (from the north of the Amazon River) and V. c. lampronotus (from the south of the Amazon River), are sometimes thought of as a separate species called Vanellus cayennensis. These two types have browner heads. The white band on their face does not reach the middle of their head. However, birds from the area around Uruguay seem to mix together.

Images for kids

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  Southern lapwing with youngster under wings

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  Southern lapwing chick

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  Nest of V. c. lampronotus with small clutch

See also

In Spanish: Tero para niños