- Lifespan
- 10–15 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 28–31 cm, wingspan 82–87 cm; 150–230 g
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, moorlands, farmland, and wet meadows with short vegetation and minimal cover.
- UK Distribution
- Breeds throughout the UK, with populations heaviest in northern England, Scotland, and Wales. Numbers decline in winter; many birds migrate south to continental Europe, whilst others remain as winter residents.
- Diet
- Invertebrates including earthworms, beetle larvae, flies, and insect pupae, obtained by probing soft ground or pecking at the surface.
- Prey
- Earthworms, insect larvae, beetles, flies, and other invertebrates
- Predators
- Foxes, stoats, crows, magpies, gulls, and birds of prey such as sparrowhawks and peregrines
- Mating Season
- March to July
- Breeding
- Clutch size 4 eggs; incubation period 24–29 days; typically one brood per year. Young are precocial and fledge at 5–6 weeks.
- Behaviour
- Highly territorial and vocal during breeding season, performing dramatic aerial displays with tumbling flights and loud calls to defend nesting sites. Forms loose flocks outside the breeding season and performs characteristic 'winnowing' display flights with slow, exaggerated wing beats. Known for aggressive mobbing of predators and intruders near nests.