76. Northern Lapwing

The British call it Lapwing but they also call it Peewit! Strange name, until you hear this bird's voice. Last time I heard a Lapwing I thought there were kids with a toy trumpet somewhere over my head! The Lapwing (M: Venewwa) is a pigeon-sized bird with this long pointsy crest on its head. It's a shorebird, so it likes wet places - there's hardly a winter when a Lapwing or two don't drop in at Ghadira nature reserve for a rest and a nap. Lapwings also like wide grassy places, so airfields are also good places to watch out for them. Sadly, Lapwings are on the condemned list (= they can be hunted) so many that pass through Malta on their way to Africa will actually stop here. Forever.   

Text by Victor Falzon.

Copyright to Birdlife Malta.