Our Lapwings
Lapwings are medium-sized wading birds that live near water, in paddy-fields, or in open grassland. They are closely related to plovers and belong to the bird family called Charadriidae. There are 25 species of lapwings spread all over the world (except Antarctica.) Bangladesh has five species: red-wattled, yellow-wattled, grey-headed, river and northern lapwings. The Bangla name for lapwing is hot-ti-ti.
First time I saw a lapwing was in Sundarban several years ago when I knew very few birds. Our group was walking through a field towards Kotka beach when a bird suddenly emerged from the tall grass, very close to me, and flew away with a loud flapping noise. I could only manage a blurry picture showing a red and black face which I later identified as that of a red-wattled lapwing. I saw the same bird later around paddy-fields but found it to be extremely shy. Only recently, with careful stalking, was I able to get close enough for a decent photograph - in the mud in Hail Haor.
Last winter I also photographed several grey-headed lapwings in the same area. These winter visitors are similar sized to their red-wattled cousins, with a fine grey plumage, yellow beaks and red eyes. Two or three were sitting on an ail that divides paddyfields. As I got closer, they shot up, flew around me making a loud call, and landed a bit farther. This pattern repeated itself several times. I got some decent flight shots while they circled me.
Closer to Dhaka, I have seen yellow-wattled lapwings in Purbachol. The birder Quazi Ahmed Hussain first showed me the area where, I eventually discovered, an entire colony resides. Like the red-wattled lapwings, these are resident year-round in Bangladesh. They have yellow skin flaps – called wattles – on their forehead which extend in triangular shape to both sides of their nose, lending them a slightly comical look. Their heads are black. Their spread wings have a band of white with black and brown on either side. They spend their time walking in the fields, taking a few steps at a time on their skinny yellow legs before stopping to search for insects. While stopped they often partially retract one leg at an angle and stand in a dainty posture. They fly low and fairly slow over short distances, often making a loud clicking call in flight. I have never seen them on a tree.
As winter rolled around to spring then summer, the Purbachol lapwings started breeding. They made their nests on the ground, hidden in plain sight, laying a clutch of four eggs at a time. One day, from a distance, I saw an adult pair with four chicks in tow. The chicks, with scrawny necks and polka-dot patterned feathers on their head and body, were perfectly camouflaged in the grass and weeds of the field. Occasionally they dived under their mother's breast while she crouched, tilting her head to search the sky for airborne predators. They emerged after she gave an all-clear signal. Another time, I saw a juvenile, almost as large as an adult, with beautiful copper coloured feathers all over.
It has been a thrill and a privilege watching these birds, but I cannot help but wonder what happens to them when the fields of Purbachol – expensive land – are filled with buildings. In the protected wetlands, our other lapwings probably face a better future.
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