Spur-winged Lapwing

Two of these Spur-winged Lapwings followed me down the boardwalk in the Tropical building at the Calgary Zoo, when I spent a few hours there on 6 October 2014. This one was looking a little ruffled.

“The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (Vanellus spinosus) is a lapwing species, one of a group of waders in the family Charadriidae.

It breeds around the eastern Mediterranean, and in a wide band from sub-Saharan west Africa to Arabia. The Greek and Turkish breeders are migratory, but other populations are resident.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud did-he-do-it call.

The bird got its name because of a spur (a small claw) hidden in each of its wings.

This species has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats.” From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur-winged_lapwing