In a previous post I blithely said that the Lapwing has an orange-red
bill, and that the bill looks dark sometimes because it is covered with
mud. Then I looked more closely at every field guide I possess. I
found drawings of the Northern Lapwing in 3 guides:
Peterson Birds of Britain and Europe, 4th edition, 1983
Sibley Guide to Birds, 1st edition, 2000
National Geographic Birds of North America, 3rd edition, 1999
All of these clearly show a dark bill in all plumages (juvenile, adult
breeding, adult nonbreeding). So why did the bird seen on March 3 have
an orange-red bill?
--
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Howard Co, MD
tweekiebird AT toadmail DOT com |