It was late evening and I was hiding behind a bush and observing the Yellow-Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus) nest in the grasslands. All of a sudden I could hear a Lapwing calling out loudly and in a few seconds I could hear the sounds of wings flapping and more Lapwings calling out. Hence, out of curiosity, I slowly moved out to see what the commotion was all about.
This was the scene; a Lapwing spreading its wings wide with its chest up high and calling out in a high tone, while another Lapwing very close by was making a fake nest and a few more Lapwings surrounded the location within a 2 meter radius and were calling out loudly.I assumed it was territorial behaviour but then came the surprise when I noticed small movements close to the nest; and noticed the silent killer of the grassland – the Rat Snake.
What captured my attention during the battle that followed was that even though the rat snake was more than 8 feet long, one of the parent Lapwing, should be the female, was trying to make a fake nest very close to the snake to lure it away from that place; while the other parent, should be the male, was spreading its wings wide and attacking it (Get a glimpse of the battle in this video). When the two minute battle finally ended, it looked like the Lapwing had won the battle and so I waited for the Lapwings to settle down after the snake left and went closer to see if the eggs were still there. But on getting closer I realized that the snake had reined victorious. I could see the emptiness and sadness which came upon the Lapwing parents, a moment of silence and the parents walked away slowly like everything they had and hoped for had been taken away.
While observing this battle, the lesson I learnt was to fight for what you love with your life. At the same time I feared: If this battle seemed uneven and unfair for the chick’s survival, then what chance would they have against the increasing development? The Yellow-Wattled Lapwings were once widespread across the Indian subcontinent, but now due to the destruction of their habitat the population is decreasing slowly. Let us not be a silent spectator and protect what we love!
