What Is a Group of Lapwings Called?
Another plover relative that shares the wading bird world’s most theatrical trick.
A group of lapwings is called a deceit, with desert also used. Like their close plover relatives, lapwings use a convincing broken-wing display to lure predators away from their ground nests.
What Is a Group of Lapwings Called?
Deceit is the term shared with plovers, lapwings’ close relatives in the same family, referencing their nearly identical broken-wing distraction display. Desert is the other listed term, of less clear origin, possibly a play on the bird’s habit of foraging across open, sparsely vegetated ground.
Where Did the Name Come From?
Lapwings belong to the same family as plovers (Charadriidae) and share their signature defensive behavior: feigning injury to lure predators away from a ground nest. That shared trick is almost certainly why “deceit” carried over from plovers to lapwings as well. The name “lapwing” itself likely comes from Old English, describing the bird’s distinctive, wavering flap-and-tumble flight display used during courtship and territorial defense.
Lapwing Facts
- Broken-wing act: like plovers, lapwings fake injury to draw predators away from their nests, then suddenly “recover” and fly off once the threat is far enough away.
- Distinctive crest: many lapwing species, including the widespread northern lapwing, have a thin, upward-curving head crest.
- Tumbling flight display: lapwings perform dramatic, wobbling aerial displays, especially during breeding season, involving steep dives and rolls.
- Iridescent plumage: the northern lapwing’s back feathers shimmer with green and purple iridescence in good light, despite looking plain black from a distance.
Example Sentences
- A deceit of lapwings scattered across the field, several feigning injury as the fox approached.
- A desert of lapwings foraged steadily across the open pasture.
🧠 Test Your Lapwing Knowledge
Three quick questions. See what stuck.
1. What is a group of lapwings called?
2. What bird family do lapwings belong to?
3. What visual feature do the northern lapwing’s back feathers have?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group of lapwings called?
A deceit, shared with plovers for their broken-wing distraction display, with desert also used.
Are lapwings related to plovers?
Yes, lapwings belong to the same family, Charadriidae, and share the same broken-wing defensive display.
Where does the name lapwing come from?
It likely comes from Old English, describing the bird’s distinctive wavering, flap-and-tumble flight display used during courtship and territorial defense.
Do lapwings have colorful feathers?
The northern lapwing’s back feathers shimmer with green and purple iridescence in good light, though they look plain black from a distance.
Deception Runs in the Family
A deceit of lapwings carries the same brilliant defensive trick as its plover cousins, proof that a good survival strategy tends to run in the family.