A Crowned Lapwing of Ngorongoro Crater, displaying its white halo crown, brown plumage, and bright red legs.
A close-up of a Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus) showing its distinctive white “halo” ring surrounding a black cap on its head.
While Christians adopted the round halo in 4th-century art, the Crowned Lapwing or Plover (Vanellus coronatus) has been sporting one for even longer.
This grassland resident wears a striking white “halo” atop its head, made even more luminescent by a contrasting black cap. The name of the bird is no accident; when a Dutch naturalist cataloged the species in 1783, he chose the Latin coronatus—meaning “crowned” or “honored.”*
Despite the holy accessories and royal title, the bird’s personality is far from saintly. Beyond the halo, its buff-and-black plumage is relatively modest, and its behavior is famously loud and aggressive. It turns out this “honored” bird is less of a quiet monarch and more of a noisy neighborhood watch.
I shot the images above on the floor of Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. This individual was rooting through a pile of manure looking for worms, insects, and larvae. Yum.
To discover another member of the lapwing family, see our post, “The Blacksmith Lapwing is a Little Fan.”