VANELLUS. 



No geographical races of this species are known. 



223 



Charadrius coronatus, Boddaert, Tabl. PL Enl. no. 800, p. 49 (1783). 

 Charadrius atricapilfus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 686 (1788). 

 Pluvianus coronatus (Bodd.), Stephens, Shaw's Gen. Zool. xi. p. 488 (1819). 

 Chettusia coronata {Bodd.), Gray, List Birds Brit. Mus. iii. p. 64 (1844). 

 Hoplopterus coronatus {Bodd.), Gray, Genera of Birds, iii. p. 542 (1847). 

 Vanelhis coronatus {Bodd.), Riippell, Syst. Ueb. Vog. N.O.-Afr. p. 117 (1845) 

 Vanellus dinghami, Verreaux, Rev. Zool. 1855, p. 220. 

 Stepkanibyx coronatus {Bodd.), 

 Stephanibyx dinghami {Verreaux 



KBonap. Compt. Rend, xliii. p. 419 (1856). 



Variations. 



Synonymy. 



Plates.— Daub. PI. Enl. no. 800. 



Habits. — Sharpe, Layard's Birds of S. Africa, p. 670. 



Eggs. — Harting, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1874, p. 456 ; Thienemann, Abbild. Vogeleiern, pi. lviii. fig. 6. 



Literature. 



Geographi- 

 cal distribu- 

 tion. 



The Crowned Lapwing may be distinguished from the other species which, like it, have Specific 

 neither wattle, spur, nor hind toe, by the crown-like arrangement of the colours of its head. characters 

 In the adult bird the crown is black, surrounded by a white ring, which in its turn is again 

 encircled with black. A more reliable character, which appears to be constant at all ages, 

 is to be found in the colour of the primary- coverts, which are for the most part white. 



The Crowned Lapwing is a resident in most parts of South Africa, but only on the 

 " veldt " at a considerable elevation above the level of the sea. It is very common in 

 Benguela (Bocage, Orn. d'Angola, p. 426) ; it is widely diffused throughout Damara-Land 

 and Great Namaqua-Land (Andersson, Birds of Damara-Land, p. 268). Layard records it 

 from various highlands throughout the Cape Colony ; it is common in the Orange Free 

 State (Barratt, Ibis, 1876, p. 191), and in the Transvaal (Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 387). 

 I met with it in flocks near Colenso in Natal. Mr. Frank Oates found it in the Matebele 

 Country, and Dr. Fischer obtained it in Masai-Land (Reichenow, Journ. Orn. 1887, p. 47), 

 which is the northern limit of its known range. 



It is difficult to say which species is most nearly allied to the Crowned Lapwing. The 

 white primary-coverts are a very curious character, which partially appears in V. leucimis 

 and in V. cayanus. In the former the inner primary-coverts have white bases, and in the 

 latter the innermost primary-covert is nearly white. Two species of Lobivanellus have 

 white primary-coverts, L. tectus and L. albieeps, so that possibly very great importance 

 cannot be attached to the character as denoting near affinity. 



It is possibly nearest related to V. melanopterus, of which it appears to be the western 

 representative in South Africa. 



Nearest 

 allies. 



