Status in UK:
(A) Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies:
Monotypic
.
Length:
36 cm
Wingspan:
105 cm
Weight:
M: 330 g F: 250 g
Scientific name from:
Gr.: kroikos=coloured + kephale=head
and L.: ridere=to laugh + abundare=abounds
World Distribution:
BREEDS: Europe, n&c Asia, ne North America, WINTERS: south to c Africa, s Asia, e US
Habitat:
Lakes, rivers, moors, grassland, coasts
Diet:
Opportunist, insects, earthworms, also plant material and scraps
TitBit:
Now a common visitor to the garden, the birds habit of venturing into urban areas appears to date only to the 'Little Ice-Age', a run of cold-winters in the 1880s and 1890s when factory workers would feed the birds scraps during their lunch hours.
Order:
Charadriiformes
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