CreatureData

Black-headed lapwing

Vanellus tectus (Boddaert, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus) is a species in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 100 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-headed lapwing

Weight
100 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.2 – 2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black-headed lapwing live?

Not recorded

What is the black-headed lapwing?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover (Vanellus tectus) is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with a black head other than a white forehead, lower face and bands across the rear head and nape. There is a wispy black crest like northern lapwing and the bill and legs are red. The tail is white, tipped black.

In flight, the black-headed lapwing's upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers.

This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats close to water. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses and grassy scrub, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground.

The black-headed lapwing has a metallic tink-tink call.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-headed lapwing” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-headed_lapwing&oldid=1313983927), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-headed lapwing endangered?

The black-headed lapwing is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black-headed lapwing classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyCharadriidae
  6. genusVanellus
  7. SpeciesVanellus tectus (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Hoplopterus tectus, Hoplopterus tectus, Hoplopterus tectus tectus, Sarciophorus tectus

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • BHLAEnglish
  • Black-headed ploverEnglish
  • Blackhead ploverEnglish
  • قطقاط أسود الرأسArabic
  • قطقاط اسود الراسArabic
  • أبو طيط أسود الرأسArabic
  • Черноглава калугерицаBulgarian
  • Kernigell penn duBreton
  • Kornigell penn duBreton
  • fredeluga capnegraCatalan
  • čejka černohlaváCzech
  • cornchwiglen bendduWelsh
  • Sorttoppet VibeDanish
  • SchwarzschopfkiebitzGerman
  • nigrakapa vaneloEsperanto
  • Avefría coletudaSpanish
  • kõnnukiivitajaEstonian
  • Hegabera burubeltzBasque
  • خروسکلی سرسیاهPersian
  • afrikantöyhtöhyyppäFinnish
  • Vanneau à tête noireFrench
  • Vanneau à coiffe noireFrench
  • Feadóg cheanndubhIrish
  • Zakaran ƙeƙuwaHausa
  • קיווית שחורת-ראשHebrew
  • crnokapi vivakCroatian
  • sisakos bibicHungarian
  • Սևափուփուլ կիվիվArmenian
  • KollvepjaIcelandic
  • Pavoncella caruncolata dal ciuffoItalian
  • ズグロゲリJapanese
  • juodakepurė pempėLithuanian
  • melnkakla ķīvīteLatvian
  • црноглава калуѓеркаMacedonian
  • ZwartkopkievitDutch
  • svarttoppvipeNorwegian
  • czajka czarnoczubaPolish
  • abibe-de-cabeça-pretaPortuguese
  • Чернохохлый чибисRussian
  • ČáhppesoaivuoktaláfolNorthern Sami
  • cíbik čiernochochlatýSlovak
  • črnoglava pribaSlovenian
  • Crnoglavi vivakSerbian
  • svarthuvad vipaSwedish
  • Kara Tepeli KızkuşuTurkish
  • чайка чорночубаUkrainian
  • 非洲麦鸡Chinese
  • 黑頭麥雞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-headed lapwing

Other species in the same genus Vanellus.

CompareBlack-headed lapwing vs Northern lapwingBlack-headed lapwing vs Red-wattled lapwingBlack-headed lapwing vs Sociable lapwingBlack-headed lapwing vs White-tailed lapwing

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-headed lapwing?

An adult black-headed lapwing weighs 100 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black-headed lapwing endangered?

The black-headed lapwing is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black-headed lapwing?

The black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus) belongs to the family Charadriidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-lapwing

MLA

“Black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-lapwing.

BibTeX
@misc{black_headed_lapwing_2026,
  title = {Black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-lapwing},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}