Adults: Upperparts, brown. Chin, throat, underparts, white. Broad black bar across lower breast, curving upwards at sides through neck to face.White stripe from eye to nape, separating black cap from black facial stripe. Bill, pale yellow with very small blackish tip. Eyering, and small strip of bare skin in front of eye, pale yellow. Iris, bright yellow. Small red wattle over base of bill. Legs, feet, dark purplish with dull red tibia. Obvious broad white wing-bar in flight. Tail, white with black subterminal bar.
Juveniles: Similar to adult, but crown dark brown with buff fringes. Black areas on face and neck in adult, blackish-brown, tinged buff. Breastband black brown. Scapulars, mantle, dark brown, boldly chequered by orange buff fringes to feathers. Bill, pale cream with small dark grey tip. Eyering pale cream. Iris greenish-yellow. Wattle, small and indistinct pale pink.
Other Names (World)
Banded Lapwing, Black-breasted Plover, Brown Plover, Plain Plover, Flock Plover, Banded Plover
Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) [XC501663]
by Ramit Singal from Waterhouse, Dorset Council, Tasmania, Australia (call)
Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) [XC643295]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Karinga Creek, Ghan, Macdonnell Shire, Northern Territory, Australia (call, insects (orthoptera spp.))
Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly June - October, or after heavy rains.
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Nest
A depression in the ground, lined with short dry grass stems.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 5, usually 4; brownish yellow to pale olive-brown, with dark brown and dusky blotches all over; pyriform; 38 - 40 x 30 - 35 mm. Incubation: about 28 days; by both sexes.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus)
Much smaller. Upperparts, dark brown, with a black hood. Lacks any white on the head. Has a wide black band of the lower breast. Flanks, chestnut, edged white. Bill, red with black tip. Legs, brown-grey, with red knees. In flight, lacks a white wing-stripe, but has trailing white edges to the wing. Usually near fresh water.
Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Much smaller. Upperparts, brownish, with dark chestnut shoulder bars. Has a distinct smaller, solid black 'V' mark on the lower breast. Eyering, red. Bill, red with black tip. Legs, reddish to yellowish. In flight, lacks a white wing-stripe. Normally found near freshwater. Utters a metallic 'pink' when flushed.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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