The Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is one of spring's most familiar birds — a striking wader with a glossy black-and-white plumage shot through with a green-purple metallic sheen, a long upturned crest, and the classic "kjy-vitt" call ringing out over the fields. It measures 28–31 cm, has a wingspan of 67–72 cm and weighs 150–320 grams, with rust-brown undertail coverts and broad, rounded wings that give it a distinctive, floppy "flapping" flight quite unlike any other Swedish bird. It belongs to the plover family and breeds across large parts of temperate Eurasia; most populations are migratory, wintering as far south as North Africa, northern India, Pakistan and southeastern China, though birds in lowland westernmost Europe are resident.
Besides its familiar "pee-wit" call, the Lapwing gives a more elaborate "pee-wee-wee-oo" during its tumbling display flight. In Sweden it breeds throughout the country up into lower Norrland, favouring open farmland, coastal meadows and wetlands, but the population — now 20,000–40,000 pairs — has fallen sharply from over 100,000 pairs in the 1970s. As a short-distance migrant it is among the earliest spring arrivals, typically appearing already in March and departing in October–November. The nest is a simple scrape on open ground, where the female lays 4 eggs incubated for 26–28 days, and the pair defends it aggressively with dramatic mock attacks on intruders. Lapwings feed mainly on earthworms, insects and snails picked from the surface of open fields, and the species' decline is largely attributed to intensified agriculture — early silage cutting destroys many nests — along with the loss of wetlands and predation by foxes and crows, though EU support for field margins and delayed mowing has helped in places.
Read about this species in Swedish →