9

Sociable Lapwings are medium-sized waders. The sexes look alike, in both breeding and non-breeding plumage. During the breeding season, Sociable Lapwings have a black cap and narrow black eye-stripes. The sides of the head are white, including strong white supercilia, morphing into ochre on chin and ear coverts that then morphs into grey. Neck, chest and back are all grey, possibly with a hue of pink. The belly is black, with some deep-chestnut behind, while the vent and undertail are white. In all seasons the upperwings have a tri-coloured structure, with a white triangle on the secondary flight feathers, black primaries and grey on the inner wing morphing with the grey of the back. In eclipse, the front becomes white, except for a greyish-brown, scalloped chest. The cap is streaked dark-brown, while the back darkens, creating a noticeable colour contrast between front and back. The irises are brown. Bill, legs and feet are black.

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 Sociable Lapwing is available HERE .

Sociable Lapwings are a migratory species. They breed in Kazakhstan, in the steppes of central Asia. Outside the breeding season they migrate to their winter quarters in Sudan, Arabia and the Indian Subcontinent. During their migration they can be found along their preferred routes.

In Europe, Sociable Lapwings used to be a common species. These days, however, they are only vagrants in Europe. The only sighting reports in recent memory are of birds found in south-western Iberia and south-western France in the timeframe February/March 2023.

Sociable Lapwings are one of those species of waders that have diverged and prefer to live in relatively dry habitats, away from water, even outside their breeding season. They have a preference for steppe, arid grassland, or (fallow) cultivated fields.

J. Pires reports finding Sociable Lapwings at Chainha, Arraiolos, Evora, Portugal, in February/March 2023. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.