I had an opportunity today to observe a family unit of Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus, two adults and two juveniles. I decided to look at all my past images of Red-wattled Lapwings to offer some idea of juvenile to adult plumage transition.
The first collage image (Plate 1) shows the progression from a chick to an adult, focusing on the face, while the second (Plate 2) shows the birds in full. Some observations of plumage change from juvenile to adult below.
Bare-Parts Changes
Bill – The tip is dark from a very young age, gets darker as the bird matures and is black in adults. The proximal two-thirds of the bill is initially brown, then a light orange with progression to darker orange-red, deepening to full red in adults.
Iris – I am not able to make clear judgements on the iris colour changes as lighting affects this. But it does appear that the iris is darker/brown in younger birds compared to the red in adults. Hayman et al (1986) states that the iris is “browner in young birds”.
Eye-ring and Wattle – Chicks do not have an eye-ring or a wattle. But as they grow older, and develop orange in the bill, they also develop a small orange wattle and a very thin orange eye-ring. This grows in size and deepens in colour to the rich red of adults; with a more marked eye-ring.
Legs and Feet – The legs are a pale-flesh colour in young birds that then develops into a dirty-yellow and final bright-yellow in adults.
Plumage Changes
The cap is initially light brown speckled with black, then becomes a darker brown, followed by a sooty-black tipped buff (Taylor & Message 2005), until the full black of adults. Note that the forehead remains grey-white until late and that the back of the head is black from a very young age. The nape and neck collar become black progressively. The throat and chin remain white until a late stage. The upper breast is grey-black from a young age and deepens to a dark black as it extends downwards and sideways with age. The upperparts of juveniles are a lighter brown with buff fringes.
References
- Taylor & Message (2005). Waders of Europe, Asia and North America. Helm.
- Hayman, Marchant & Prater (1986). Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. London: Christopher Helm.
- Wells, D.R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1 (Non-Passerines). London: Christopher Helm.
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
