The latter has distinctive black markings on the shoulder and side of the chest, and is sometimes recognized as a separate species: the black-shouldered lapwing (Vanellus novaehollandiae).

[2] The masked lapwing was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux in 1781.

[3] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle.

[4] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Tringa miles in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.

The subspecies found in the southern and eastern states of Australia and in New Zealand (V. m. novaehollandiae), and often locally called the spur-winged plover, has a black neck-stripe and smaller wattles.

Masked lapwings are most common around the edges of wetlands and in other moist, open environments, but are adaptable and can often be found in surprisingly arid areas.

Attacks are most vicious on other birds, such as ravens, and also on cats and dogs, but once the chicks reach 60% of full size after two or three months, the chances of that happening decrease.

Some masked lapwings, especially those living in residential suburban areas, may never successfully breed, due to increased disturbance from domestic pets, people on footpaths, and cars.

The chick reaches full growth after four or five months and will often stay with the parents for from one to two years, resulting in family groups of three to five birds nesting in one location over the summer.