Sociable Lapwing / Vanellus gregarius ( Sürmeli kızkuşu )

The sociable lapwing or sociable plover (Vanellus gregarius) is a scarce wader in the plover family. It is a fully migratory bird, breeding in Kazakhstan and wintering in the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Sudan. The genus name is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus a winnowing fan. The specific gregarius is Latin for "sociable" from grex, gregis, "flock" referring to its tendency to be present alongside conspecifics and other closely related birds.
This medium-sized lapwing has longish black legs and a short black bill. Non breeding individuals in winter have light brown wings with a striking head pattern. The sociable lapwing has a black crown and eyestripe, the latter being bordered above and below with white. The underside of the bird is white. Its long-ish black legs, white tail with a black terminal band and distinctive brown, white and grey wings make it almost unmistakable in flight.
The summer breeding plumage is much more vivid. The brown feathers become grey-ish and slightly glossy with the exception of the cheeks, which are ochre. The stripes across the eyes and the bird’s crown are stronger in colour, and the lower breast of the bird takes on a black plumage which fades to rich chestnut-coloured feathers as they near the vent.
A skin specimen of a sociable lapwing collected in the Russian Empire, 1913 Juveniles have a bordered back feathers giving them a “scaly” appearance and only traces of the head pattern.
This bird resembles the more abundant white-tailed lapwing, but has a striped crown and dark grey legs as opposed to the yellow legs and plain head of the white-tailed lapwing. It is between27-30 cm (11-12 in) in length. The call is a harsh kereck. Unlike other lapwings, that tend to gravitate towards wetter aquatic environments, the sociable lapwing prefers steppes, arid grasslands, as well as cultivated fields. It breeds in the steppes of Kazakhstan. Three to four eggs are laid in a ground nest. The sociable lapwing historically took two routes, a western and eastern route. On its western route, it passes over Central Asia and turkey to winter in Palestine and Lebanon, a few regions in Saudi Arabia, as well as Eastern Africa. On its eastern route, it winters in coastal Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and India.
In the case of two countries, however, the case is different. Qatar and Kuwait, the sociable lapwing was recorded historically as a vagrant, with the first sightings in the 80’s. As the nations industrialised, farms and parks were established throughout the countries. In particular, vagrants ha have visited the Rukaiya farm and Sulaibyia pivot fields in the early 2000’s have taken to repeatedly visiting or even wintering in the nations, giving rise to a third, Central migration route.
Once occupying a large range in Europe, the sociable lapwing has been practically wiped out from the continent. It is not fully extinct there however, as it is occasionally recorded as a vagrant stretching as fare as the United Kingdom and the French Empire, often found alongside the Northern lapwing on its migratory and vagrancy trips. It feeds in a similar way, picking insects and other small prey mainly from grassland or arable land.
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Sürmeli kız kuşu (Vanellus gregarius), yağmurcungiller familyasına ait bir kuş türü.
Rusya ve Kazakistan'da açık otlakta görülürler. Üç-beş yumurtayı bir yer yuvasına koyarlar. Böcekler ve diğer küçük avlarını otlak veya tarım arazisinden seçerler. Orta büyüklükte, uzunca siyah bacaklı ve kısa siyah gagalıdırlar. Yaz erişkinlerinin, gri arkaları ve göğüsleri, koyu renk karın ve beyaz kuyrukları vardır. Başın, siyah bir taç ve göz çizgisiyle göz alıcı bir deseni vardır. Üst boyun, koyu sarı renklidir. Kış erişkinlerinin, daha az ayrı bir baş deseni, ufakça daha kahverengi arka ve göğüs ve beyaz karnı vardır.
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