Ruckus Over Ulwe

The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) — a tall wader in brown and black, with a bold white stripe down the neck, long yellow legs, and a black-tipped red bill.

Its name comes from the scarlet fleshy wattle set in front of each eye. Harder still to ignore is its intruder alarm — a loud, “did-he-do-it” that has earned it a nickname by the same phrase.

This one created a ruckus, continuously flying over my head. I shot it in Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, in another era. The lapwings are long gone from there now, their habitat taken away by the SEZs.