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Subject:

Lapwing bill color mystery

From:

June Tveekrem

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Sat, 5 Mar 2005 09:27:42 -0500

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