Vanellus armatus
The Blacksmith Lapwing (Vanellus armatus) is a striking and unmistakable wader belonging to the family Charadriidae. This medium-sized bird typically measures 27-30 cm in length with a wingspan of approximately 70 cm and weighs between 150-220 grams. Its plumage is a bold contrast of black, white, and gray: a jet-black cap, breast, and hindneck are sharply delineated from a pure white belly and flanks, while the back and wing coverts are a soft gray. Distinctive field marks include bright red...
Found in a variety of open, often moist habitats, including short-grass savannas, grasslands, cultivated fields, and especially around the edges of wetlands, dams, and pans, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Primarily feeds on a variety of invertebrates such as insects (beetles, grasshoppers, ants, larvae), worms, and sometimes small crustaceans or mollusks, which it procures by pecking and probing in soft ground.
Blacksmith Lapwings are diurnal, often foraging during the day and roosting communally at night, sometimes in standing water. They are visual foragers, walking deliberately and then suddenly pecking or probing into soft ground for invertebrates. Highly territorial, especially during the breeding ...
The Blacksmith Lapwing is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily inhabiting the southern and eastern parts of the continent. Its core breeding range extends from South Africa northwards through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. While l...
Least Concern
- The Blacksmith Lapwing gets its common name from its distinctive, repetitive, metallic 'klink-klink-klink' call, which sounds like a blacksmith hammering on an anvil. - It possesses sharp, bony spurs on the bend of each wing, which it actively uses as weapons to defend its nest and young agains...