# Red-wattled lapwing (*Vanellus indicus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-wattled-lapwing  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus), also called the Red-wattled plover, is a bird in the family Charadriidae of the order Charadriiformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 181 g and a wingspan of 68.3 cm. This sedentary, terrestrial invertivore lives in wetland habitat and has a geographic range of 7,326,000 km². Its clutch holds 4 eggs, incubated for 26 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 170 g – 181 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 68.3 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 26 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.5 – 4 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Charadriidae
- genus: Vanellus
- species: *Vanellus indicus* (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms: *Hoplopterus indicus*, *Hoplopterus indicus indicus*, *Lobivanellus goensis*, *Lobivanellus indicus*, *Parra goensis*, *Sarcogrammus indicus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the red-wattled lapwing?

The red-wattled lapwing is a bird in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. It is also called the Red-wattled plover.

### How heavy is the red-wattled lapwing?

The red-wattled lapwing has an adult body mass of 181 g, which places it in the small size class. Its wingspan is 68.3 cm.

### What does the red-wattled lapwing eat?

The red-wattled lapwing is an invertivore, with a trophic level of carnivore.

### What habitat does the red-wattled lapwing live in?

The red-wattled lapwing lives in wetland habitat, where it has a terrestrial lifestyle. It is sedentary.

### Is the red-wattled lapwing endangered?

No. The red-wattled lapwing is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How many eggs does the red-wattled lapwing lay?

The red-wattled lapwing lays 4 eggs per clutch, with 1.5 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days.

### Who named the red-wattled lapwing?

The red-wattled lapwing, Vanellus indicus, was named by Boddaert in 1783, written as (Boddaert, 1783).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-wattled-lapwing