Northern Lapwing Chick
Vanellus vanellus (chick)
A downy, long-legged chick that leaves the nest soon after hatching and follows its parents through damp pasture, marsh edges, and open farmland. It feeds for itself by picking tiny insects and other invertebrates from short vegetation and bare mud. When threatened, it freezes and crouches flat, relying on mottled brown-and-buff down to disappear against the ground. Its parents defend nearby, but the chick’s own best defense is stillness and camouflage.
- Type
- Stealth
- Conservation status
- NT
Growth chain
- Northern Lapwing Chick
- Northern Lapwing Juvenile
- Northern Lapwing