White-tailed lapwing

white-tailed lapwing

 or white-tailed plover (Vanellus leucurus) 

Lucknow outskirts

Uttar Pradesh 

February 2020.

This is a wader in the lapwing genus. The genus name Vanellus is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus a winnowing fan. The specific leucurus is from Ancient Greek leukouros, "white-tailed"

This medium-sized lapwing is long-legged and fairly long-billed. It is the only lapwing likely to be seen in other than very shallow water, where it picks insects and other small prey mainly from the surface.

Adults are slim erect birds with a brown back and foreneck, paler face and grey breast. Its long yellow legs, pure white tail and distinctive brown, white and black wings make this species unmistakable. Young birds have a scaly back, and may show some brown in the tail.