River Lapwing vs Yellow-wattled Lapwing

River Lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii

Medium143 gRiverine

The river lapwing is 29–32 cm long. It has a black crest, crown, face and central throat and grey-white neck sides and nape. It has a grey-brown breast band and white underparts with a black belly patch. 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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Rejoice Gassah · CC BY 4.0

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Vanellus malabaricus

Medium140 gGrassland

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds found in dry stony and open grassland or scrub habitats. They are medium-sized pale brown waders with a black crown which is separated from the brown on the neck by a narrow white band and large yellow facial wattles. The chin and throat are black and the brown neck and upper breast is separated from the white belly by a narrow blackish line. The tail has a subterminal black band which does not extend into the outer tail-feathers. There is a white wingbar on the inner half of the wing. The bill is yellow at the base.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Srivatsan Ramkumar · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: River Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing.