Red-wattled Lapwing
Vanellus indicus
The adult red-wattled lapwing is a conspicuous bird of open wetlands, fields, riverbanks, and village edges across South Asia. It eats insects, beetles, worms, mollusks, and other small ground-dwelling prey picked from mud or short vegetation. Adults defend exposed ground nests with loud alarm calls, distraction displays, and direct swoops at intruders. Its piercing repeated call is famous, but in battle its most decisive threat is fast aerial harassment.
- Type
- Wing
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Red-wattled Lapwing