summer

summer upperwing European distribution at nest

Identification

Lapwings are easily identified wading birds, medium sized, black and white with white faces and a long upright crest. In flight, the floppy, rounded black and white wings make them unmistakable.

Habitat

Breeds from the coast to the uplands on marshy areas and farmland. Winters on estuaries and farmland.

Behaviour

At nest site utters excited, characteristic 'pee-wit' call and performs acrobatic display flight. Once the male has decided on a nest site, he advertises it by bending down with his chest to the floor so that the tail sticks up to show his orange undertail coverts.

Migration

Complex patterns of movement within Europe, with some birds largely sedentary and others highly migratory. Generally birds move west or south during the winter, particularly if cold spells occur.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Lapwing is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincs 09/02/2010	Levington Creek/Lagoon, Suffolk 15/01/2010	Cley, Norfolk 05/12/2009	Wood Lane NR, Shrops 05/02/2010	Abberton Resr, Essex 15/11/2009
Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk 10/05/2009	Barnes WWT, London 30/01/2010	Barnes WWT, London 30/01/2010	St Mary's Is., Northumbs 30/01/2010	St Mary's Is., Northumbs 30/01/2010

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Lapwing breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

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	Farmers' contest to help save the Lapwing	Tuesday 9th January 2007
	A prize is up for grabs for the farmer who does most to help one of Britain's favourite birds.   read on
	Back from the Brink. No 7: Lapwing	Wednesday 29th March 2006
	The seventh of our articles based on a RSPB booklet charting the recovery of some of the UK's rarest breeding birds. Here we look at one of our most conspicuous waders, the Lapwing.   read on

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