Vanellus miles novaehollandiae: another spur-wing shore bird

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Vanellus miles novaehollandiae
(Boddaert 1783; up to 37cm in length; Figs 1, 2) is the extant masked lapwing, aka spur-wing plover, of Australia and New Zealand, notable for transforming manus digit 1 into a formidable spike, and for those yellow facial wattles. Otherwise it is almost identical to the more plesiomorphic Charadrius. the plover, with which it nests in the LRT.

Figure 1. Vanellus the extant spur wing is not related to other spur-wings in the bird clade.
Figure 2. Skeleton of Vanellus with insets for the left and right manus. Digit 1 is colored red here.

Comparisons to the horned screamer,
Anhima (Fig 3), are warranted because both bear manus spurs. Analysis indicates the two do not nest together and the morphology of the spur arises from different bones.

Figure 3. Horned screamer (genus: Anhima) skeleton. Spiked manus is purple.
Figure 3. Horned screamer (genus: Anhima) skeleton. Spiked manus is is purple. Note, the spike is separate and distinct from digit 1 here. Compare to figure 2.

Convergence
is demonstrated in this example of two unrelated birds with hand spurs.

References
Boddaert P 1763. The Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi (Natural History, General and Particular, with a Description of the King’s Cabinet)

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