Bird Guide

Grey-headed Lapwing vs Spur-winged Lapwing

Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)

Grey-headed Lapwing

Vanellus cinereus

Medium270 gWetland

The grey-headed lapwing is 34–37 cm long. It has a grey head and neck, darker grey breast band and white belly. The back is brown, the rump is white and the tail is black. This is a striking species in flight, with black primaries, white under wings and upper wing secondaries, and brown upper wing coverts. Adults of both sexes are similarly plumaged, but males are slightly larger than females. Young birds have the white areas of plumage tinged with grey, a less distinct breast band, and pale fringes to the upperpart and wing covert feathers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus)

Spur-winged Lapwing

Vanellus spinosus

Medium188 gWetland

The spur-winged lapwing is a medium-large wader with a black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. It has a loud did-he-do-it call. The bird's common name refers to a small claw or spur hidden in each of its wings.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bouke ten Cate · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Grey-headed Lapwing and Spur-winged Lapwing.