Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

Other Names (World)
Northern Lapwing, Lapwing, Peewit, Green Plover

Family
Charadriidae (Plovers)

Size
28 - 31 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Farmland, especially where there is bare soil and short grass, pastures, wet grassland, fens, bogs and marshes.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (NB), Albania (B) (NB), Algeria, Armenia (B) (NB), Austria (B) (P), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B) (P), Belgium (B) (NB), Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B) (NB), Bulgaria (B) (NB), China (mainland), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB), Cyprus (NB), Czech Republic (B) (NB) (P), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Egypt, Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Georgia, Germany (B) (NB) (P), Gibraltar, Greece (B) (NB) (P), Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (NB), Iceland (B), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Iraq (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel (NB), Italy (B) (NB) (P), Japan, Jordan (NB) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Latvia (B) (NB), Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B), Lithuania (B) (NB), Luxembourg (B) (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malta (NB), Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), North Korea, Norway (B) (P), Pakistan, Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (B) (NB), Qatar, Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Saudi Arabia, Serbia (B) (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia (B) (NB) (P), South Korea, Spain (B) (NB), Sweden (B) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Syrian Arab Republic (NB), Taiwan (China), Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (NB) (P), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Yemen.

Vagrant to Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cape Verde, Dominica, Gambia, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Kenya, Martinique, Montserrat, Oman, Puerto Rico, Senegal, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (NB), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Tajikistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA.

Population
Estimated population is 5,200,000 - 10,000,000 (2010).

Status NT
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Terrestrial invertebrates, especially beetles and earth worms.

Voice
A shrill 'peeoo-wit' and other, more scratchy, calls.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (498)...)

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) [XC366305]
by Marco Dragonetti from Egelsee, Hofstetten near Landsberg, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Finland (call, song)

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) [XC744693]
by Lars Mogensen from Tarnos, Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Belgium (nocturnal flight call)

Nest
A shallow scrape on the ground, slightly raised on a tussock or mound, in the open, and lined with vegetation in wet areas.

Eggs (Guide)
4; smooth, olive-buff to olive-green, heavily spotted and blotched with black or blackish-brown; pyriform. Incubation: about 27 days.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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