Yellow-wattled lapwing: a species hit by loss of open grasslands

The yellow-wattled lapwing is among species affected by the loss of open grasslands and scrubs.

Neglecting something that is ubiquitous — directly or indirectly — can in time cause it to diminish to a point where its occurrence invites surprise. Decades ago, in Madras, a yellow-wattled lapwing was hardly a rara avis. Fast forward to 2024, a yellow-wattled lapwing sighting in the uttermost reaches of Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) is something to shout about. The sighting of two yellow-wattled lapwings recently on a dry, sandy patch on East Coast Road was. This patch arrived after ECR had rolled considerably into the depths of CMA. The yellow-wattled lapwing is among species affected by the loss of open grasslands and scrubs.

A species that displays flexibility in terms of habitats would accommodate itself to a new one without a cluck. If the variations between the old and new habitat fall within its comfort zone, the altered situation would hardly register in its tiny little brain. The closest human analogue would be someone walking from the drawing room to the bedroom without as much as a thought about it. In contrast, species that have habitat specialisation stamped into their DNA would be hit hard by habitat loss. In its search for its preferred habitat, it might have to recede far from its original address.

In contrast to the red-wattled lapwing, the yellow-wattled lapwing thrives in a specialised habitat. And it is a habitat that is prone to “improvements” by human hands. The yellow-wattled lapwing and other species that depend on open-grassland and scrub often find their habitats overrun by tree-planting exercises. The attitude to “improve” open grasslands in this manner is now prevalent in peri-urban areas; hence, the yellow-wattled lapwing is being “driven” to areas far removed from these patches.

In contrast, this bird’s cousin, the red-wattled lapwing is versatile in the choice of habitats and highly adaptable, which explains why it is easily seen in periurban and sometimes even urban patches.

A Pacific golden plover at the Muttukadu-Covelong estuarine system on April 4. As is evident from the shades it is wearing, the bird is in molting towards putting on its breeding plumage. In breeding plumage, the black-bellied plover and the Pacific golden plover wear shades that are remarkably similar and also those strikingly dissimilar. The Pacific wears a white scarf — a feature that sets it apart. Even if this distinguishing mark is missed, there are others by which a Pacific golden plover can be told apart from a black-bellied plover. That makes identification of the two considerably easy.