Colours of Wildlife: Wattled Plover
Created | Updated May 31, 2015
Wattled Plover
Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"
Here you have a bit of a differently styled painting from my usual fare. This is a Wattled Plover, Vanellus senegallus, shown in close-up, so that you can see its splendid face adornments! This species is one I don’t see very often. It is much rarer in my region than its relative the Crowned Plover, Vanellus coronatus. Wattled plovers are not rare, actually, but inhabit moister grassland and marshy regions, while crowned plovers prefer short, open, dry grassy regions. I’ll feature Crowned Plovers in this column soon.
The wattled plover is the largest, tallest plover in South Africa. It reaches a head-body length of 35 cm/14", but thanks to its long legs it stands a bit taller than that. In my sketch you can see its proportions. Its legs are yellow and its body brownish grey. Its wings have white and black patches only visible in flight, while its tail is white with a black bar. It has a white patch on its forehead, blackish streaks on its neck, but the facial wattles and its comparatively large, yellow bill, are its most prominent features.
A Face full of Wattles
I still wonder how it is that so many quite unrelated groups of birds develop facial wattles. They're present in many pheasants and other game birds, in some birds of prey, a species of ibis, in some shorebirds, some hornbills, even in many songbirds. Yet, wattles like these are not found in mammals, reptiles or amphibians. I wonder if wattles were present in the dinosaur ancestors of modern birds – I think it likely, in fact.
The wattled plover's wattles are quite fine. They have a two-fold structure: a smaller, bright red upper part, rising above the bill, and a longer, yellow, flat lower part that hangs down to well below the level of the bill. Both males and females have these wattles. Along with the bright yellow bill, they're conspicuous from quite a distance away. They might be a feature for species recognition. Wattled plovers don't mix with other kinds of plovers, but often roost together in small to large groups. The wattles might also have a role in display and in making the males and females attractive to each other.
Interestingly, the wattled plover is not the only plover with wattles in South Africa. It has a close relative, the Whitecrowned Plover, which has wattles that are much larger – about twice as long!
Long-Legged Grass Stalkers
Because of the wattled plover's long legs, it inhabits regions of taller grass than other plovers. But actually, it still prefers short grass – the others simply prefer grass that's shorter still. Like them, it eats invertebrates. It will peck up beetles and other little critters amidst the grass, and when foraging in marshy regions, eats a variety of small aquatic animals. Its long legs raise it high so it has a good view of its surroundings, but because it has a short neck, it has to bend its legs and stoop forward to reach its prey. They will step or run around, watching for tidbits, stooping to peck them up or to probe into the soil with their bills. Wattled plovers stay close to water or wet land most of the time, only venturing into surrounding drier areas for short periods. They sleep at night standing up in shallow water amidst marshy vegetation.
Like several other species of plover, and a few birds from other groups like Jacanas, wattled plovers have spurs on their wrists (forming the bend of their wings). These are sharp, conical bone protrusions. They can use these to defend themselves and their chicks against attackers. When a dangerous animal approaches, they will first crouch down low, trying to hide themselves in the grass. But if the animal comes closer still, they will suddenly fly up while making a lot of noise. They will utter shrill warning calls before swooping down at their enemies. When they land again, they will briefly flash out their boldly marked wings. Their warning calls help alert other plovers of the presence of potential predators. They also utter other territorial and contact calls, even at night.
Like other plovers, wattled plovers have very minimal nests. They just scrape away grass and other debris from a small, open patch amidst dense, relatively tall grass close to water. The female lays two to four eggs that are brownish and blotchy, well-camouflaged on the ground. If a predator approaches the nest, the pair of plovers will try to distract it away, doing their dive-bomb threat flights if necessary.
The plover chicks hatch after about a month. Like other plovers, they are very cute and comical looking, with fairly large heads, tiny, fluffy bodies, and long legs. They hatch open-eyed and are immediately able to stand, walk and run. They leave the nest and follow their mother and father around. These will show and teach them how to find food. Also, the parents warn their chicks of danger by their alarm calls. The chick will then crouch down next to a tuft of grass, where it is almost impossible to see. The mother and father will try to draw the threat away. When danger is past, the chicks stand up and join their parents again. They grow rapidly and fledge at the age of about forty days.
Fortunately, wattled plovers are not endangered. In South Africa they've even benefited from human activity, using the marshy shores of the many newly created lakes and ponds to forage. Wattled plovers occur in suitable habitat over most of sub-Saharan Africa, only being absent from dry regions and from dense forests.
