June: 
  
Your post provoked me to check the Princeton Guide to the Birds of Europe along with Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater.  
  
They both illustrate the bill as black in all ages/seasons.  The text in the Pronceton book makes no mention of the color but the Shorebirds monograph, which is far more detailed, mentions specifically that the bill is short and black.  
  
Matt Grey 
Roland Park and Pasadena 
 
	-----Original Message-----  
	From: June Tveekrem [mailto:[log in to unmask]]  
	Sent: Sat 3/5/2005 9:27 AM  
	To:   
	Cc:  
	Subject: [MDOSPREY] Lapwing bill color mystery 
	 
	 
 
	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