Banded Lapwing

The banded lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) is a small to medium-sized shorebird, found in small parties or large flocks on bare ground in open grasslands, agricultural land and open savannah. It is native to Australia and in the past considered as a game bird for hunting. Population estimate is 25 000 - 1 000 000. Other names include banded, black-breasted, brown flock and plain plover. == Taxonomy == Lapwings belong to the family Charadriidae (plovers) and sub-family Vanellinae. Biochemical evidence suggests that plovers are holophyletic, meaning that all modern plovers, and no other taxa, share the same common ancestor. It has been suggested that most plovers originated from the Southern Hemisphere and evolved under arid and semi-arid conditions. There are 25 extant species of lapwings. Africa has the most species of lapwings, while North America has none. Australia has two native species, the masked lapwing and the banded lapwing. The masked lapwing is split into Vanellus miles miles and Vanellus miles novaehollandiae. The first fossils of the Vanellus species were from Belgian deposits retrieved from the middle Oligocene dating back 30 million years ago, the time when the first grasses appeared. == Description == The banded lapwing is a medium-sized shorebird…