CreatureData

Blacksmith lapwing

Vanellus armatus (Burchell, 1822)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus) is a species in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 156 g to 167 g and live up to 13.7 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus)
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blacksmith lapwing

Weight
156 g – 167 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
13.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
18.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
28.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3 – 3.1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
2src for Litters or clutches a year
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 blacksmith lapwing live?

Not recorded

What is the blacksmith lapwing?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus) is a lapwing species that occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa. The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic 'tink, tink, tink' alarm call, which suggests a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil.

From the Wikipedia article “Blacksmith lapwing” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blacksmith_lapwing&oldid=1319053552), 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 blacksmith lapwing endangered?

The blacksmith 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 blacksmith lapwing classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyCharadriidae
  6. genusVanellus
  7. SpeciesVanellus armatus (Burchell, 1822)

Synonyms Anitibyx armatus, Antibyx armatus, Charadrius albiceps, Charadrius armatus, Hoplopterus armatus

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • Blacksmith ploverEnglish
  • BLLAEnglish
  • BontkiewietAfrikaans
  • WaterkiewietAfrikaans
  • أبو طيط مسلحArabic
  • fredeluga armadaCatalan
  • čejka běločeláCzech
  • Gof y traethWelsh
  • Broget VibeDanish
  • SchmiedekiebitzGerman
  • WaffenkiebitzGerman
  • Armita vaneloEsperanto
  • blankfrunta vaneloEsperanto
  • Avefría armadaSpanish
  • seppkiivitajaEstonian
  • خروسکلی سیهچهرهPersian
  • seppähyyppäFinnish
  • Vanneau arméFrench
  • סיקסק הנפחHebrew
  • קיווית נפחיתHebrew
  • bjelokapi vivakCroatian
  • patkós bíbicHungarian
  • pavoncella armataItalian
  • Pavoncella fabbroItalian
  • シロクロゲリJapanese
  • pempė kalvisLithuanian
  • SmidsplevierDutch
  • smedvipeNorwegian
  • czajka srokataPolish
  • abibe-armadoPortuguese
  • abibe-preto-e-brancoPortuguese
  • Чибис-кузнецRussian
  • Пигалица-кузнецRussian
  • cíbik čiernochrbtýSlovak
  • dolgonoga pribaSlovenian
  • Vivak kovačSerbian
  • smedvipaSwedish
  • Zırhlı KızkuşuTurkish
  • leThulatshipiTswana
  • чайка строкатаUkrainian
  • 黑枕麥雞Chinese
  • 黑背麦鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blacksmith lapwing

Other species in the same genus Vanellus.

CompareBlacksmith lapwing vs Northern lapwingBlacksmith lapwing vs Red-wattled lapwingBlacksmith lapwing vs Sociable lapwingBlacksmith lapwing vs White-tailed lapwing

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blacksmith lapwing?

An adult blacksmith lapwing weighs 156 g – 167 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blacksmith lapwing endangered?

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

How long does the blacksmith lapwing live?

The blacksmith lapwing has a recorded lifespan of 13.7 years.

What kind of animal is the blacksmith lapwing?

The blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus) 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). Blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blacksmith-lapwing

MLA

“Blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blacksmith-lapwing.

BibTeX
@misc{blacksmith_lapwing_2026,
  title = {Blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blacksmith-lapwing},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}