Behind our house at Panchwati in Udaipur there is a three-story building belonging to a school. The roof of this building is of asbestos cement sheets. Two Redwattled Lapwings were usually sighted perched atop this roof at the beginning of May, protesting and attacking birds of prey.

On the morning of 14^th May 1981, we saw one of the lapwings with four chicks at the edge of the roof. For five days we saw these chicks frequently with the lapwing at the edge of the roof. On the sixth day, two chicks fell down from the roof and died. On the tenth day the other two landed safely on the ground.

Near our house there are barren grounds as well as a deep and dry nullah over 100 ft. deep. The walls of the nullah are quite high and men seldom venture inside it. Inspite of all these safe grounds and flat roofed buildings being available why this pair of lapwings chose the sloping and uneven roof of the school building for nesting is a puzzle. Though there are some stray dogs and domestic cats in the vicinity, the nearby nullah is not visited by any of these predators and is certainly safer than the roof.

Published in Journal of Bombay Natural History Society:

Tehsin, R. H. & Lokhandwala, J. (1982) Unusual Nesting of Redwattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus). J. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. 79(2): 414