The Masked Lapwing

Thanks first of all for the many comments and stars for my Darwin ballet girls and Figure champion blips from the last 2 days. I will get back to all of you in due course.

The Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), previously known as the Masked Plover and often called the Spur-winged Plover or just Plover, is a large, common bird native to Australia, particularly the northern parts of the continent. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms, and has several distinctive calls.

I saw this bird this morning in Darwin, at the side of a restaurant, scavenging for food.

More yellow.

This species is the largest representative of the family Charadriidae, at 35 cm (14 in) and 370 g (13 oz). There are two distinct versions of this bird which until recently were thought to be separate species. This bird belongs to the Northern Australian subspecies (Vanellus miles miles) and has an all-white neck and large yellow wattles with the male having a distinctive mask and larger wattles.

Since this bird lives on the ground it is always alert and even though it rests it never sleeps properly. Masked Lapwings are shy and harmless in summer and autumn but are best known for their bold nesting habits, being quite prepared to make a nest on almost any stretch of open ground.

They can be particularly dangerous at airports where their reluctance to move from their nesting area - even for large aircraft - has resulted in several bird strikes

All in all it was a most successful trip to Darwin and I am pleased to be back home again.