Masked Lapwing
Vanellus miles
- Family
- Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia (particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent), New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms and has several distinctive calls. It is common in Australian fields, open land and where there is lots of water, and is known for its defensive swooping behaviour during the nesting season.
Despite the species being also known as the masked plover and often called the spur-winged plover or just plover in its native range, lapwings are classified to their own subfamily, Vanellinae, and not to the closely related plover subfamily, Charadriinae.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Masked lapwing
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.