22-10-2025 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow.

In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

22-3-2024 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus) NIKON P900

The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow.

In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus ), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow.

In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland and it often feeds in drier habitats such as savannah.

In Gambia for example this delightful bird is widespread and also generally fairly common.

8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow.

In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

18-12-2022 FARASUTO FOREST, GAMBIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

19-4-2022 MANDINA LODGE, GAMBIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

 

5-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

2-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow.

In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Occurs across sub-Saharan Africa; in southern Africa it is fairly common in Zimbabwe, northern Botswana and Namibia (including the Caprivi Strip), north-eastern South Africa, Swaziland and central and southern Mozambique. It generally prefers waterlogged grassland at streams, seeps edges of marshes and flood plains, as well as exposed areas along the edges of lakes and pans, burnt grassland and cultivated land.

Monogamous, territorial solitary nester, with the male defending its territory vigorously against intruders (mainly other African wattled lapwings) by striking them with its wings. Displays and fights are most intense at the beginning of the breeding season, as later males only call and use threat postures to defend their territory.

The nest (see image below) is a shallow depression in the ground, several of which are created by the male before the female chooses one to be lined thickly with grass stems, roots, pebbles and dry dung. It is typically placed on bare ground in short or burnt grassland, or occasionally small islands in marshy areas.

 

Egg-laying season is from July-December, peaking from September-October.

It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about 28-32 days, often mobbing predators which come to close.

The chicks leave the nest within 24 hours, and are always tended by at least one adult, fledging at about 40 days old but only leaving the family group at the start of the following breeding season.

It is currently not threatened, in fact it may have benefited from the modification of habitats by humans.

3-11-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

29-3-2021 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

 

9-9-2020 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

 https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4868-Vanellus-senegallus

23-10-2019 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wattled_lapwing

5-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus) COURTESY OF MRS VALERIE FISHER

5-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

The Southern Wattled Lapwing is the subspecies Vanellus senegallus lateralis of the African Wattled Lapwing, a large, conspicuous wader found across sub-Saharan Africa. It is known for its bold yellow facial wattles with fleshy red bases and its loud, sharp calls. 

Key Facts

Scientific Name: Vanellus senegallus lateralis

Alternative Names: African Wattled Lapwing, Senegal Wattled Plover, or simply Wattled Lapwing.

Physical Appearance: A large, brownish bird, about 34 cm (13.5 in) long, with a black crown, white forehead, long yellow legs, and prominent yellow facial wattles that have red bases. In flight, its upper wings display a white bar separating black flight feathers from brown coverts.

Habitat: It prefers open and moist areas such as marshes, wet grasslands, and the edges of lakes, but is adaptable and also found in drier savannas, cultivated fields, and even golf courses.

Distribution: This particular subspecies is a resident breeder in southern and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to western Kenya, south to northern Namibia and eastern South Africa.

Diet: It is an insectivore, feeding primarily on insects and other invertebrates (such as grasshoppers, beetles, and worms) picked from the ground while walking slowly or using "foot-trembling" to disturb prey.

Behavior: Known for being vigilant and vocal, it has a loud, sharp call, often rendered as a "peep-peep-peep" or "did-he-do-it". It is territorial, especially during the breeding season, and aggressively defends its ground nest from intruders.

Breeding: It lays 2-4 eggs in a shallow ground scrape, often lined with grass or pebbles. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the chicks, which are precocial and leave the nest shortly after hatching to forage with their parents. 

This bird is protected under the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). 

2-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus senegallus)

The African Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus senegallus) is a distinctive, large brownish bird known for its bright yellow facial wattles with red bases, living in moist African grasslands, marshes, and floodplains, feeding on insects, and making loud "peep-peep" calls; they form monogamous pairs, build shallow ground nests, and are non-migratory residents, though they show nomadic movements seasonally, generally considered Least Concern globally despite local habitat threats like afforestation. 

Appearance & Identification

Wattles: Large, bright yellow wattles with distinctive fleshy red bases (smaller in juveniles).

Plumage: Brown back, black crown, white forehead, yellow legs and beak, white tail with black tip.

In Flight: Shows black flight feathers, brown coverts, and a white wing bar. 

Habitat & Diet

Habitat: Prefers wet areas like marshes, floodplains, lake edges, but also found in dry savanna, cultivated fields, and burnt grasslands.

Diet: Primarily insects (termites, locusts, beetles, caterpillars), worms, and some grass seeds, foraging on the ground. 

Behavior & Reproduction

Social: Forms monogamous pairs, often for life, and lives in groups.

Nesting: Builds shallow scrapes on the ground; the male selects the site, and the female chooses where to lay.

Vocalization: Known for loud "peep-peep-peep" calls, especially in flight, used for alarms and territory defense.

Activity: Forages by walking slowly; exhibits nocturnal feeding under full moons. 

Status & Range

Distribution: Common across most of sub-Saharan Africa, outside rainforests.

Status: Globally listed as Least Concern (LC) by IUCN, but faces threats from habitat loss and hunting in some areas.