Banded Lapwing

Plumage

Adult:  The crown, the nape and the sides of the neck are black.  The back of the neck and the rest of the upperparts are tan-brown.  There is a white line from the back of the eye that extends to almost meet at the nape of the neck.  The chin and throat are white.  The breast is black and this meets the black of the neck forming a band.  The belly, flanks and vent are white.  There is a distinctive red wattle on the sides of the forehead.  There is a yellow orbital ring and a yellow iris.  The bill is yellow.  The legs are grey with pink ‘knees’.

Juvenile:  Similar to the adult plumage but the black areas are browner and the upperparts are mottled because the feathers are fringed with buff.  The wattle is duller.

Confusing Species

Masked Lapwing: This bird is larger, does not have a breast-band.  Its yellow wattle is more noticeable.

Found in dry, open areas from grasslands, agricultural areas and semi-arid habitat.  It is found though Southern Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and south-east Queensland.  It is rarer east of the Dividing Range.  Its range in Western Australia is increasing.

Breeding

The nest is a shallow scrape that is lined with grasses and maybe stones.  Usually the 4 eggs are incubated for 28 days.  The birds fledge at about 60 days.  A large percent of the young are predated.  Mostly breeds south of 20ºS.

References

1. BirdLife Australia (2023). Whimbrel. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/whimbrel/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
2. Smith, M. G., M. A. Skeel, E. P. Mallory, and P. Pyle (2025). Eurasian Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whimbr5.01
3. eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available:  http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
4. Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
5. Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
6. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/