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With its striking green-black and white plumage and distinctive pee-wit call, the Lapwing is one of Britain's best-known birds. Lapwings depend on agricultural land to breed and are considered a barometer of the health of this habitat; the population has crashed over recent decades, partly due to changes in farming practices. In winter, Lapwings switch to coastal areas and to wetlands, including those in suburban areas, where large, noisy flocks can gather. Michael Shrubb's The Lapwing is a concise yet authoritative monograph of this popular species; a thorough review of Lapwing biology contains sections on population dynamics, feeding ecology, habitat use, migration, and conservation; there is an impressively detailed review of our current understanding of breeding biology, plus discussion of some other species in the genus. The Lapwing is a superb addition to the Poyser list. Of interest to both amateur naturalists, who will enjoy insights into the birds' lives, and to academics, who will appreciate the broad overview of current research, this title will remain the definitive work on the species for many years to come.
E-Book Content
THE LAPWING
THE
LAPWING
MICHAEL SHRUBB Illustrations by ROBERT GILLMOR
T & A D POYSER London
Published 2007 by T & AD Poyser, an imprint of A&C Black Publishers Ltd., 38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB www.acblack.com Copyright © 2007 text by Michael Shrubb. Copyright © 2007 illustrations by Robert Gillmor. Copyright © 2007 photographs by Michael Shrubb, except where other photographers are specified. The right of Michael Shrubb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. ISBN 978-0-7136-6854-4 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—photographic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or retrieval systems—without permission of the publishers. This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. Commissioning Editor: Nigel Redman Project Editor: Jim Martin Design: J&L Composition, Filey, North Yorkshire Printed and bound in Hong Kong 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents List of Figures List of Tables Introduction and acknowledgements 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
The lapwing species Breeding distribution and populations Breeding habitat and causes of population change in Europe Breeding habitat and causes of population change in Britain Distribution and populations in winter Winter habitat use Food and feeding behaviour The breeding season: arrival and territory The breeding season: courtship, display and pair formation The breeding season: laying, incubation and hatching The breeding season: nesting success Rearing the chicks and fledging success Movements and mortality Conservation and the future
6 9 11 13 20 25 43 63 71 93 110 123 133 148 166 178 193
Appendix 1. Changes in breeding populations in the 19th and 20th centuries Appendix 2. Habitats used by breeding Lapwings in Europe Appendix 3. The diet of the Lapwing Appendix 4. Scientific names of species mentioned in the text
202 205 208 210
References Index
212 230
List of Figures CHAPTER 1. Figure 1.1. CHAPTER 2. Figure 2.1. Figure 2.2. CHAPTER 3. Figure 3.1. Figure 3.2. Figure 3.3. CHAPTER 4. Figure 4.1. Figure 4.2. Figure 4.3. Figure 4.4. Figure 4.5. CHAPTER 5. Figure 5.1. Figure 5.2. Figure 5.3. Figure 5.4. Figure 5.5.
The six main zoogeographical regi