Hilarious looking, the Masked Lapwing is the bird formerly known as the Spur-winged Plover. It's hard to know which name is worse. Plovers/Lapwings come with bad reputations and are known to squawk a lot (just about anything makes them squawk) and they sometimes attack whatever gets too close to their eggs, which are conveniently laid on the ground. Fortunately I have not been bombed by one of these birds but they can be threatening and even have small spurs on their wings. You can see a yellow spur in the second picture, though it is tiny.
Late October Post Script: A group of plovers spend a lot of time in the grounds of a local television station. The fences probably help keep them safe from cats and cars. Good move plovers.
I love that first photo.
ReplyDeleteTa, they are nice birds and I find all their squawking reassuring actually. (You can tell we have had some rain if plovers are hanging around at the moment.)
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