Lapwings have long crests, black and white feather patterns, and very broad, round wingtips. Up close, their black feathers have an iridescent green sheen. In winter, their distinctive round wings can be seen when they are in flight in a massive flock.

In spring, you may hear their ‘peewit’ call in grasslands or at the coast where they breed. Their call gives them their other common name: Peewit. Females will nest in simple scrapes in the mud or sand and the chicks hatch during the springtime. By late spring, the lapwing chicks will venture out of their nest to forage. If the nest is threatened, the parents will attack the potential predators.

The lapwing’s latin name is Vanellus vanellus which means ‘little fan’. This refers to their flapping wings in flight. The name lapwing is thought to come from an Old English term which means ‘leap with a flicker in it’ because their flocks seem to flicker between white and black as they flap their wings.