Masked lapwing (Plover)

Description:

The masked lapwing is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent, New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms, and has several distinctive calls.

Habitat:

These local Plovers had 4 chicks on my (bare) footpath. This is not uncommon, as they have probably nested there for longer than my years, while suburbia grew around them.

Notes:

They now forage together for 2-300 meters from where the nest was. At night, they take their chicks out on the road for safety's sake - in a flat open area - from wandering dogs, cats, snakes etc; Although, because of the chicks' size, many are run over by cars at night, whose drivers wouldn't even notice the tiny well-camouflaged tiny creatures :(