Masked lapwing

Vanellus miles

The Masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) is a bird found in Australia and New Zealand. Open fields, parks and playing fields in Australia and New Guinea. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, seeds and nuts and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Vanellus miles
Region	Australia & Oceania
Found in	Australia and New Zealand

🏡 Where the Masked lapwing lives

Open fields, parks and playing fields in Australia and New Guinea.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs80%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%
🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It has bright yellow face patches and will swoop at animals near its nest.

Hear the Masked lapwing

Recorded by Romuald Mikusek (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC935906. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Masked lapwing

Where does the Masked lapwing live?

The Masked lapwing lives in Australia and New Zealand. Open fields, parks and playing fields in Australia and New Guinea.

What does the Masked lapwing eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 80%), seeds and nuts (about 10%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Masked lapwing endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Australia & Oceania

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.