1. Masked Lap-Wings
By Nick

2. Masked Lap-Wings have a pure white chest, along with a brown back and black head. The black
collar is distinctive to the Southern race. The term Masked Lap-Wing comes from the yellow
face and wattles they have, looking a bit like a mask. Although it seems odd these colours are
actually camouflage! When the bird is flying, the white makes it look like the sky. When it is
walking, the back looks like brown terrain.

3. Masked Lap-Wings like a large area of short grass because, unlike most other birds, they lay
their eggs on the ground. Lap-Wings also take shelter in small places. You will never see a
Lap-Wing in a tree. This is because their feet aren’t built for landing in trees although they
can fly. These native birds also like paddocks with dams, beaches and swamps.

4. Masked Lap-Wings tend to eat worms, large beetles, larvae, and more. We currently do not
know a lot of the Lap-Wings diet but are still working on it. When Lap-Wings are bored you
might see them pecking at the land for something to eat.

5. Masked Lap-wings are aggressive and shy the first time they meet you but as you don’t scare
them they will become tame. In fact, if they’re tame and you walk up to them, they'll simply
walk away slowly. You can hear a loud, metallic, penetrating and repeated harsh call from a
Lap-Wing (on the you tube video). These birds swoop when under attack and always do their
best to protect their young. Their other “weapon” is 2 spurs, or spikes on the sides of the
bird. This is an excellent repel trick to their enemies.

6. Masked Lap-Wings lay 1-4 eggs and very rarely 5. The nest is a saucer shaped depression on
the ground, usually lined with dry grass. They are about 15 cm in diameter and you need very
sharp eyes to spot one. The eggs vary in colour from green to brown, and are camouflaged
with black spots. The eggs take up most of the space of the nest if the female laid 4. It takes
round about 29-36 days for the chicks to incubate.

7. The Lap-Wing chicks are very wary just like the adults. They do not look like a Lap-Wing, yet.
As you can see in the pictures, they are fluffy, small and their parents defend them at all
costs. If you ever see a adult Lap-Wing sitting and has spread out wings, it is very likely that a
chick will be taking shelter in the warmth of parents.

8. The Northern race of the Masked Lap-Wing is smaller, has no collar and has a slightly bigger
mask than our Southern Lap-Wing. So, the further you go up north, you’ll find that the size and
features of this Lap-Wing are slowly changing.
The other similar bird is a Banded Lap-Wing which are again, smaller, have a larger collar and
crown. They also have a tiny bit of red around their eyes. These birds also like short but large
area of grass for their homeland.

9.  The scientific name for a Masked Lap-Wing is Vanellus miles
 You will often hear these birds at night
 If you have an Australian Geographic calendar this year, a pair of
Northern Race Lap-Wings is located on June
 The chicks walk as soon as they hatch
 To prove their wary sense, the Lap-Wings sometimes look like they’re
about to step, then keep their leg bent for advance scouting
 Lap-Wings have been known to jump on each other and walk
 Lap-Wings used to be called “Masked Plover” then “Spurwinged Plover”
(because of their spur). Now we have our Masked Lap-Wing
 If a Lap-Wing sees a reflection of itself it thinks that it’s another Lap-
Wing! Problem is, they’re identical