Crowned Lapwing
Vanellus coronatus
The Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus) is a common plovers and lapwing found in 18 countries, weighing about 165 g. The crowned lapwing, or crowned plover, is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and southwestern Africa.
About the Crowned Lapwing
The crowned lapwing, or crowned plover, is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and southwestern Africa. It is an adaptable and numerous species, with bold and noisy habits. It is related to the more localized black-winged and Senegal lapwings, with which it shares some plumage characteristics.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The crowned lapwing is easily recognized by its combination of brown and white colours, with most tellingly, a black crown intersected by an annular white halo. Adults are noisy and conspicuous. Males measure on average 3% larger than females. Juveniles are dull versions of adults, vermiculated on the wings and mantle, the legs yellowy rather than red and the bill lacking the red base.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Crowned Lapwing can be seen all year round, with peak activity in July. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Crowned Lapwing?
- The crowned lapwing is easily recognized by its combination of brown and white colours, with most tellingly, a black crown intersected by an annular white halo. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Crowned Lapwing?
- The Crowned Lapwing is a medium sized bird weighing about 165 g.
- Where can you see a Crowned Lapwing?
- The Crowned Lapwing occurs in 18 countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Botswana.
- What birds look similar to a Crowned Lapwing?
- The Crowned Lapwing is most easily confused with the Spur-winged Lapwing, the Blacksmith Lapwing and the African Wattled Lapwing.
- Is the Crowned Lapwing endangered?
- The Crowned Lapwing is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Crowned Lapwing for real
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