Species profile
About the white-crowned lapwing
The white-crowned lapwing is a bird of sandbars and river shores, never far from moving water. It is boldly marked — a white crown stripe down a grey head, long drooping yellow wattles either side of the bill, and a clean white wing panel that flashes in flight.
It is noisy and fearless in defence of a nest, dive-bombing crocodiles and monitor lizards that come too close. The Rufiji in Nyerere National Park and the Katuma in Katavi are the places to find it in Tanzania.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Feeds by walking and pausing on wet sand, taking insects from the surface. Extremely vocal and aggressive around a nest.
Social life
Territorial pairs holding a stretch of sandbank; small parties gather where feeding is good.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
Long yellow facial wattles, a sharp carpal spur on the wing, and a willingness to mob animals many times its size.
