Sociable Lapwing
Vanellus gregarius (Pallas, 1771) (3, 1)
Photo © By Cks3976 - Photographed by mePreviously published: www.walkinthewild.net, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19046614
STATUS
Palearctic. Monotypic.
OVERVIEW
The first acceptable record lay misidentified for twenty years as a Cream-coloured Courser.
Records as per BOU (1971) with the exception of the third record which was not published until 20 years later, but is acceptable in the latest Birds of Scotland (2007).
Birds leave their breeding grounds about August until mid-November. In the Middle East a few individuals overwinter regularly.
RECORDS
1). c. 1860 Lancashire & North Merseyside Whitehall Estate, St Michael's-on-Wyre, shot, autumn, now at Manchester Museum.
(F. S. Mitchell, Zoologist 1888: 389; Saunders, 1892; H. A. Macpherson, Zoologist 1893: 150-151; Saunders, 1899; Witherby, 1920-24; Oakes, 1953; White, McCarthy & Jones, 2008).
History F. S. Mitchell (1888) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. XII. p. 389, and Mitchell (1892: 212-213, 2nd ed.) in the revised edition of Mitchell's Birds of Lancashire, says: 'The following appeared in The Zoologist for 1888, p. 389: - "In the Birds of Lancashire (p. 175), I stated that I had examined a Cream-coloured Courser which had been shot in this county, and it is with mingled grief and joy that I have to advise you, firstly, of an error in identification, and, secondly, of an addition to the British list.
The bird in question, having come into the possession of Mr. W. H. Doeg, of Manchester, was submitted by him to Mr. Seebohm, and he has pronounced it as the Sociable Lapwing. With the twenty years of reputation of the specimen as a Courser, and being only able to look at it by candlelight in a crowded case, perhaps I may be forgiven for having been deceived by the superficial resemblance between the two, and for having attributed such discrepancies as I could perceive, to the vagaries of country birdstuffing. However, the credit of the determination belongs entirely to the gentleman named; and possibly Mr. Seebohm, to whom I have sent all the information I could get, may refer to the matter more fully. - F. S. Mitchell".
This specimen was exhibited by Mr. Seebohm at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, on November 20th, 1888.'
H. A. Macpherson of Carlisle (1893) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. XVII. pp. 150-151, says: 'Knowing the county, I have read with great interest your remarks on Mr. Saunders' new edition of Mitchell's Birds of Lancashire. With regard to the Sociable Plover, it seems only just to the author that a brief explanation should be offered as to how he acquiesced in the identification of the bird in question as a Courser. The fact is, Mr. Mitchell had known the bird for years as a reputed Cream-coloured Courser before he ever set eyes on it. When he did obtain a hasty glance at it, he only saw it by the light of a single candle, and it was partly hidden by other birds preserved in the same case, so that he had no chance of identifying it. Of course, when the bird was taken out of the case it was easily identified.'
Oakes (1953: 305) adds: 'Shot in the autumn of 1860 while in a flock of Lapwings on the Whitehall Estate, St Michael's-on-Wyre. Mr. W. H. Doeg held the specimen for many years. However, J. R. Charnley informed me that it later passed into the collection of J. Frankland.'
White, McCarthy & Jones (2008: 130) add: 'It was in the collection at the Manchester Grammar School but passed into Manchester Museum where it still is.'
2). 1926 Orkney North Ronaldsay, first-winter female, shot, 3rd November, now at National Museums of Scotland (NMSZ 1926.115).
(P. H. Mackenzie, Scottish Naturalist 47: 157; Eds., British Birds 21: 206; Baxter & Rintoul, 1953).
History Patrick H. Mackenzie (1927) in the Scottish Naturalist, Vol. XLVII. p. 157, says: 'On the 3rd November 1926 while walking up Woodcock in a turnip field in North Ronaldshay, Orkney Isles, I saw a bird, standing at the edge of the field, which I took to be a Golden Plover. The sun was almost setting and the light was bad. Although Woodcock were not scarce in the field, the bird in question was by itself. Taking it for a Golden Plover I shot it, and was surprised on looking at it to find that it was no ordinary bird but one I surmised to be a Sociable Plover, an identification which was confirmed later by Dr. Ritchie at the Royal Scottish Museum, to which I sent the bird. Had I known at the time of the shooting what it really was it would probably still have been in the land of the living.'
[The above is the first record of the occurrence of the Sociable Plover, Chettusia gregaria, in Scotland. The example is a female in the plumage of the first-winter....It is being mounted for exhibition in the British Bird Hall of the Royal Scottish Museum. - Eds.]
In an Editorial (1928) in British Birds, Vol. XXI. p. 206, they say: 'Lieut. Commander P. H. Mackenzie reports (Scot. Nat., 1927, p. 157) that on November 3rd, 1926, he shot a specimen of Chettusia gregaria at the edge of a turnip field in North Ronaldshay. The sun was nearly setting and he took the bird for a Golden Plover. It is a female in first winter plumage and is now in the Royal Scottish Museum. This eastern species is a very rare vagrant to the British Islands and has not previously been reported from Scotland.'
3). 1949 Orkney Isbister, Rendall, Mainland, early December.
(E. Balfour, Scottish Birds 5: 468; Booth, Cuthbert & Reynolds, 1984; Forrester & Andrews et al., 2007).
History E. Balfour (1969) in Scottish Birds, Vol. V. p. 468, says: 'On 15th January 1969 J. S. Byres, of Carrick, Eday, telephoned to describe a bird which had been present near the farmhouse for a few days. It was a complete stranger to him and was consorting with some Common and Black-headed Gulls in a grass field, where at times it could be observed at close range. His description left me in no doubt that it was a Sociable Plover.
It was obviously a plover type of bird but looked a bit larger and taller than either the Golden Plover or Lapwing. Its general colour was pale drab with a tinge of blue-grey, paler on the underparts, except for a dark patch across the belly and whitish beneath the tail. A prominent whitish buff forehead continued as a stripe above the eyes to meet in a sharp V behind the head. The top of the head was brownish with some buff edgings. Rump and tail were white, with a dark subterminal band. The primaries appeared to be blackish and the secondaries white, showing as a conspicuous wing-bar in flight, and the wings were rounded at the ends, though not as broadly as in the Lapwing. Legs and bill were blackish, both being rather longer than those of either Golden Plover or Lapwing.
The bird remained on Eday for just about a week. The only previous Scottish records are also from Orkney in winter. One, a 1st-winter female, was shot on North Ronaldsay on 3rd November 1926 (Scot. Nat., 1927: 157), and the other was seen by me at Isbister, Rendall, in 1949. Details were not published at the time, but I was in no doubt whatsoever about its identity. The bird was in a field near my house for a couple of days in early December 1949 with a small party of Lapwing. It stood noticeably higher on longer legs and had pale drab to dove grey upperparts. It was paler below but with a dark patch on the belly and whitish under the tail, which was mainly white above with a dark band near the end. Below a brownish crown were most noticeable broad white eyestripes coming together at the back of the head. In flight the wings resembled those of a Lapwing, being blunt-ended, but not so broad, and there was a noticeable white wing-stripe.'
Accepted locally (Booth, Cuthbert & Reynolds 1984).
1950-57 RECORD
4). 1951 Northamptonshire Northampton Sewage-farm, 20th October.
(R. Felton, Journal of the Northants. Natural History Society 1951: 169; H. G. Alexander, British Birds 45: 294-295; Taylor MS., 1959).
History R. Felton (1951) in the Journal of the Northants. Natural History Society, Vol. XXXII. p. 169, says: 'A record communicated by H. G. Alexander through A.E.E. from Ecton Sewage Farm on October 20th. One bird flew up with about 12 Lapwings, separated, and flew over observers (H. G. Alexander and Miss C. K. James), and away to the NE at 12.45 (BST). It was singled out by call note and large white patch on secondaries. Other points noted: Bill slender and longer than Lapwing, white and black tail, buff underparts, wing narrower than Lapwing, probably a juvenile (Full details were submitted to British Birds).'
H. G. Alexander (1952) in British Birds, Vol. XLV. pp. 294-295, says: 'On October 20th, 1951, at about 12.00 B.S.T., Miss C. K. James and I put up a party of some twenty Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) from the eastern end of Northampton sewage farm. With them was a peculiar looking bird which immediately separated from the flock, flew straight towards us and over our heads at not more than forty feet, then turned towards the north and flew speedily away, rising as it flew, until it was lost to sight.
Comparing notes of what we had seen immediately after the bird disappeared, we recorded the following features: (1) A large patch of white - in the wing, covering, apparently, the whole of the secondaries; this was the feature that immediately drew our attention to the bird, at perhaps fifty yards distance, when it flew up. (2) Much white and some black on and round the tail as the bird flew away (H.G.A.). (The possibility occurred to me that it might be a White-tailed Lapwing (Chettusia leucura), a species familiar to me in North India, so I looked specially to see the colour of the tail and noted that it was not wholly white). (3) Pied appearance as it flew away from us (C.K.J.). (4) Body-colour buffish (C.K.J.). (5) Bill rather long and narrow compared with a Lapwing's (H.G.A.). (6) Wing rounded like a Lapwing's but narrower than in that species. (7) Bird more slender, and perhaps smaller, than the Lapwings as it flew up with them. C.K.J, thought she heard an unfamiliar whistle as the Lapwings flew up, but the bird was silent as it flew over our heads.
All the above features seem exactly to fit the Sociable Plover (Chettusia gregaria), and I think there can be no doubt that it was a bird of that species. I have seen Sociable Plovers in Egypt some years ago and as the bird flew over our heads I thought it was probably of that species but did not recall any of the distinctive characters, and was not sure that the striking wing patch fitted that bird, until I was able to consult The Handbook in the evening.'
Accepted locally (Taylor MS. 1959).
NOT PROVEN
0). 1907 Kent Romney Marsh, six, immature female, shot, 3rd May.
(W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 19: 85; C. B. Ticehurst, British Birds 1: 57; H. F. Witherby & N. F. Ticehurst, British Birds 2: 150; Ticehurst, 1909; Eds., Field 10th Dec., 1910: 1094).
[E. M. Nicholson & I. J. Ferguson-Lees, British Birds 55: 299-384 HR].
History W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Editor (1907) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. XIX. p. 85, at the 133rd Meeting of the Club held on 15th May 1907 at the Restaurant Frascati, London, says: 'Mr. C. B. Ticehurst exhibited a specimen of the Sociable Plover [Vanellus gregarius (Pallas)], and made the following remarks: - "The bird, a female in its first breeding-plumage, was shot from a flock of six in Romney Marsh, Kent, on the 3rd of May, 1907, by a shepherd, who gave it to a farmer. The latter sent it to Mr. Bristow, taxidermist, St. Leonards, to be mounted, and I saw it in the flesh in his shop on the 6th of May. It was then fairly fresh: both wings had been broken by the shot. This is the third British example".'
C. B. Ticehurst (1907) in British Birds, Vol. I. p. 57, says: 'On May 3rd, 1907, a specimen of the Sociable Plover (Vanellus gregarius (Pallas)) was shot in Romney Marsh, Kent, by a shepherd who gave it to a farmer; the latter sent it to Mr. Bristow, taxidermist, of St. Leonards, for preservation, and in his shop I examined it in the flesh. The bird, a female, was one of a flock of six, and is a young bird in its first breeding plumage. This, the third example obtained in the British Islands, was exhibited by me at the British Ornithologists' Club (vide Bull. B.O.C., Vol. XIX. page 85).
The first British example was shot in Lancashire about 1860, and the second in Co. Meath, Ireland, on August 1st, 1899. Besides these examples this species has only been recorded about half-a-dozen times from South-western Europe, and not at all from Heligoland or North-western Europe. The home of this species is in the Steppes of the Crimea and the region between the Don, the Volga and Caucasus, the Caspian region and Turkestan. In autumn it migrates to the uplands of Sinde and plains of India; while Ceylon, Arabia, Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia are also visited in the cold season.'
Admitted by H. F. Witherby & N. F. Ticehurst (1908) in British Birds, Vol. II. p. 150, under 'On the More Important Additions to our Knowledge of British Birds since 1899', who say: 'It will be remembered that one was recorded from Kent in 1907, vide antea, Vol. I. p. 57.'
Accepted locally (Ticehurst 1909: 429-430).
In an Editorial (1910) in The Field of 10th Dec., Vol. CXVI. p. 1094, they say: '...The third, shot from a flock of six in Romney Marsh on May 3, 1907, was exhibited at the club [British Ornithologists' Club] about a fortnight later by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, who had seen it in the flesh. Between May 23 and May 25 last four examples out of a flock of five were obtained between Rye and Winchelsea by a man named Thorpe. Two are in the collection of Mr. J. B. Nichols, and the other two, which had been examined in the flesh by Mr. Ruskin Butterfield, Mr. L. C. Edwards, and others, were exhibited by Mr. A. F. Griffith at the last meeting of the club. They have been presented to the Booth Museum by Messrs. J. E. Hall and E. Robinson.'
Comment Hastings rarities. Not acceptable.
0). 1910 Sussex Near Winchelsea, female, 25th May; male and female, 26th May; male, 27th May, two now at Booth Museum, Brighton, male and female now at Leicester Arts & Museums (Acc. No. Z28.2006.13.1 & Z28.2006.13.2).
(W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 27: 28-29; E. N. Bloomfield, Hastings & East Sussex Naturalist 1: 304, 305; Eds., British Birds 4: 256; N. F. Ticehurst, British Birds 5: 119; Walpole-Bond, 1938; A. H. J. Harrop, British Birds 111: 228-230).
[E. M. Nicholson & I. J. Ferguson-Lees, British Birds 55: 299-384 HR].
History W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Editor (1910) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. XXVII. pp. 28-29, at the 162nd Meeting of the Club held on 16th November 1910 at Pagani's Restaurant, London, says: 'Mr. A. F. Griffith exhibited a male and female example of the Sociable Plover (Chettusia gregaria, Pall.), in breeding-plumage. They were two of four examples which had been obtained between Rye and Winchelsea, between the 25th and the 27th of May, 1910, by a man named Thorpe. The other two specimens were in the collection of Mr. J. B. Nichols. There five birds in the flock, but the fifth had apparently escaped. The birds exhibited had been examined in the flesh by Mr. R. Butterfield, by Mr. L. C. Edwards, and others, and had been mounted by Mr. Bristow of St. Leonards. They had been presented to the Booth Museum by Messrs. J. E. Hall and E. Robinson.'
E. N. Bloomfield (1911) in the Hastings & East Sussex Naturalist, Vol. I. pp. 304, 305, says: 'Dr. N. F. Ticehurst has sent me a long and very interesting list of rare birds which have occurred in our own and neighbouring districts, to which I have added a few others lately presented to the Museum by Mr. W. H. Mullens. In Sussex - Vanellus gregarius, Pall., Sociable Plover, between Winchelsea and Rye, five adults, May 25th, 1910.'
In an Editorial (1911) in British Birds, Vol. IV. p. 256, they say: 'At the November meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club, Mr. A. F. Griffith exhibited a male and female example of Chettusia gregaria, which had been obtained with two others between Rye and Winchelsea between May 25th and 27th, 1910. These two specimens had been presented to the Booth Museum, Brighton, by Messrs. J. E. Hall and E. Robinson, and they had been examined in the flesh by Mr. R. Butterfield and Mr. L. C. Edwards. The two others shot at the same time are in the collection of Mr. J . B. Nichols. A fifth is said to have escaped (cf. Bull. B.O.C., Vol. XXVII. p. 28).'
N. F. Ticehurst (1911) in British Birds, Vol. V. p. 119, in a review of 'Catalogue of Cases of Birds in the Dyke Road Museum, Brighton. By E. T. Booth; with further notes by A. F. Griffith', says: 'The most important additions since the publication of the supplement, appear to be...a pair of Sociable Plovers from Winchelsea.'
Accepted locally (Walpole-Bond 1938 (3): 145).
Comment Hastings rarities. Not acceptable.
0). 1914 Sussex Near Winchelsea, three: obtained, 9th May, now at National Museums of Scotland; male, shot, 11th May, now at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (Acc. No. 1962Z10.69); male, shot, 18th May, now at Hastings Museum.
(J. B. Nichols, British Birds 9: 156-157; W. Ruskin Butterfield, Hastings & East Sussex Naturalist 2: 201; Walpole-Bond, 1938; Watson, 2010; J. M. Collinson & R. Y. McGowan, British Birds 104: 543).
[E. M. Nicholson & I. J. Ferguson-Lees, British Birds 55: 299-384 HR].
History J. B. Nichols (1915) in British Birds, Vol. IX. pp. 156-157, says: 'Three Sociable Plovers (Chettusia gregaria) were shot near Winchelsea: the first on May 9th, 1914, is now in the Royal Scottish Museum, the second, a male, on May 11th, is in my own collection, and the third, also a male, on May 18th was presented by Mr. W. H. Mullens to the Hastings Museum. These birds were examined in the flesh by Mr. Ruskin Butterfield.'
[In July, 1914, Mr. M. J. Nicoll informed me that he had seen two Sociable Plovers in a field between Winchelsea and Snailham on Thursday, April 30th, and asked me to state this fact if they were subsequently recorded. - H.F.W.]
Accepted locally (Walpole-Bond 1938 (3): 145).
J. M. Collinson & R. Y. McGowan (2011) in British Birds, Vol. CIV. p. 543, in a Letter, under 'Hastings Rarities in the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh', state that the following species were sold to the museum during 1913 and 1914 by George Bristow, the taxidermist of St Leonard's, who was at the heart of the fraud known as the 'Hastings Rarities', just before Witherby challenged him in 1916 over the amount of rarities recorded in the area. A male from Winchelsea on 9th May 1914 (Acc. No. 1914.76).
Watson (2010) in detailing the J. L. Auden collection in the Birmingham Museum lists a male specimen that was obtained at Winchelsea, Sussex, on 11th May 1914, adding that J. B. Nichols bought it from Bristow on 19th June 1914.
Comment Hastings rarities. Not acceptable.
