9

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) Alternate name(s): "Lapwing", "Green Plover", "Peewit", "Pewit", "Tuit", "Tew-it" German name(s): "Kiebitz" Size: 28-33 cm; wing span: 67-87 cm Body mass: 130-330 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.25-0.26

Europe: Family Group 9 Family Group 9 Table Red Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Eurasian Stone-curlew Black-winged Stilt Pied Avocet Collared Pratincole Eurasian Oystercatcher Common Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Grey Plover European Golden Plover Eurasian Dotterel Sociable Lapwing Northern Lapwing Spur-winged Lapwing Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Northern Lapwings are medium-sized waders. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. there are some differences between males and females. Both sexes also have different breeding and eclipse plumages. Males in breeding plumage have a large solid-black "bib" on throat and chest. The rest of the front, up to the vent, is white. The underwing coverts are rufous. They have a wispy, backswept dark crest. The sides of the head are off-white, with a black horizontal bar under each eye. The back of the head and the nape of the neck are grey. The near-black wing coverts have a purple to green glossy sheen, while the mantle is dark-grey. The inner underwings are white, the primaries and the tips of the other flight feathers are black (the outermost primaries have grey tips). Females in breeding plumage are similar to males, but with an on average shorter crest and some white scalloping in the black bib and on the chin. In eclipse the two sexes look alike. The black bib partly disappears, giving way to a white throat and a thinner, black-and-white scalloped breast band. The lores, chin and nape of the neck are cinnamon to pale-rufous. Throughout the year males and females can be distinguished in-flight, because males have visibly wider "hands", i.e. more prominently finger-shaped primaries than females. Both sexes have dark-brown irises, a relatively short, straight, black bill and pink to greyish-pink legs and feet. Juveniles are similar to adults in eclipse, but with a shorter crest, crisper light-brown scalloping on the wing coverts and a less conspicuous breast band.

Taxonomy, classification See Northern Lapwing at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Northern Lapwing is available HERE . The Northern Lapwing is a partly migratory species with a wide-ranging distribution throughout temperate Eurasia. Especially the Asian population is mostly migratory, spending the winters in subtropical areas ranging from the North-African coastal fringe via coastal areas in the Middle East and Arabia, through Asia Minor and along the southern coastal fringe of the Caspian Sea to the South side of the Himalaya mountain range, southern China, Korea and Japan. In summer the breeding range is extended much further northwards, into eastern and northern Europe and into mid-latitude Asia. In Europe Northern Lapwings are permanent residents from southern Denmark via northern Germany and the Benelux countries into most of the British Isles (except the highlands and southern Ireland) and France (except the far South). There are also permanent populations in parts of Span, northern Italy and eastern coastal Greece. In the southern (and other remaining) parts of the British Isles and all Mediterranean countries Northern Lapwings are found as winter visitors outside the major mountain ranges (Pyrenees, Alps, Appenin Mountains, Balkans). In summer Northern Lapwings extend their breeding range to the North and East, crossing the river Rhine and moving into (and beyond) the catchment of the Danube. The summer breeding range of the Northern Lapwing encompasses all of Europe outside the wintering quarters of migratory populations mentioned above, except for the highest mountain areas and the far North-east of Scandinavia. Northern Lapwings have a preference for habitats with rough grassland, usually near shallow water. They are found in major inland wetlands, e.g. riverine swamps, but also in ephemeral wetlands such as submerged meadows and, particularly in their winter quarters, also in coastal wetlands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information D. Wilczynska reports spotting Northern Lapwings in wetlands along the river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in March 2017. H. Dahlem-Senger reports finding Northern Lapwings at Naturschutzgebiet (Nature Reserve) Wallnau/Fehmarn, on the German Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, Germany, in June 2018. Others were found in Ostfriesland, Germany, in June 2021. J. Pires reports finding Northern Lapwings regularly in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, Portugal. M. Eaton found Northern Lapwings at Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, in September 2019. A. Sarok reports finding Northern Lapwings in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024.

Photos

ADULT

BREEDING

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage; note the solid-black chest band (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2017]

Near-lateral view of a male(?) Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2017]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female(?) Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female(?) Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Northern Lapwings in a submerged meadow; the bird in the front right is possibly a female (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2017]

Sex unknown

Overview of the habitat in which a large flock of Northern Lapwings was found (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Between Harlesiel and Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Northern Lapwing in flight; note the characteristic black-and-white uppertail, with very narrow white tips; below two European Golden Plovers (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, February 2021]

Northern Lapwings in flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2017]

Large flock of Northern Lapwings, indicating that these birds are still in their winter quarters (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2017]

NON-BREEDING

In eclipse the sexes can only be separated by getting a good view of the primary wing feathers.

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Northern Lapwing moulting out of breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage in flight; the "broad hand", i.e. the prominently visible ends of the primary flight feathers, suggest(s) that this is a male (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2019]

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage; note the rufous wash on the head
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Aguas de Moura, Palmela, Setubal, Portugal, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2018]

Lateral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2020]

Lateral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Lateral view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2025]

Northern Lapwings in non-breeding plumage resting together with a Common Redshank (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Northern Lapwings in non-breeding plumage, together with several species of very similar waders: Green Sandpiper, front left, Wood Sandpiper, near the centre, and all others are Common Sandpipers (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, July 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing; note the short plume (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Frontal view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing compared to a feeding female Northern Shoveler
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve, Fareham, Hampshire, England, September 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Lapwing (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Food, Diet

Northern Lapwings feed on insects and other small invertibrates, usually foraging near the edge of, or in, shallow water.

Feeding technique of Northern Lapwings (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2017]

This Northern Lapwing in non-breeding plumage has been digging up dirt (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/mob/flock

Some populatinos of Northern Lapwings in Europe are sedentary in parts of the Mediterranean and in western Europe. Elsewhere they are migratory, overwintering around the Mediterranean and extending their breeding range in summer into northern and eastern Europe.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

lapwing_dw_20170409.m4a	(Poland)	Pair courting	© DW
lapwing_jp_20230130.mp3	(Portugal)	?	© JP

More Northern Lapwing sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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