CreatureData

River lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826)

NTNear Threatenedbirds

The river lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii) is a species in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 143 g to 174.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

River lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii)
Photo: Rejoice Gassah · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the river lapwing

Weight
143 g – 174.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
riverinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the river lapwing live?

Not recorded

What is the river lapwing?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The river lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii) is a lapwing species which breeds from the Indian subcontinent eastwards to Southeast Asia. It range includes much of northern and northeastern India, and extends through Southeast Asia to Vietnam. It appears to be entirely sedentary. Formerly also called spur-winged lapwing, this name is better reserved for one of the "spur-winged plovers" of old, Vanellus spinosus of Africa, whose scientific name it literally translates. The masked lapwing of Australasia was at one time also called "spur-winged plover" (and still is in New Zealand), completing the name confusion.

This species resembles the closely related spur-winged lapwing of Africa, and has sometimes been considered conspecific. The species name commemorates Alfred Duvaucel.

From the Wikipedia article “River lapwing” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=River_lapwing&oldid=1379926232), 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 river lapwing endangered?

The river lapwing is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  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 Near Threatened species.

How is the river lapwing classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyCharadriidae
  6. genusVanellus
  7. SpeciesVanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826)

Synonyms Charadrius duvaucelli, Hoplopterus duvaucelii

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • Asian spur-winged lapwingEnglish
  • Asian spur-winged ploverEnglish
  • Indian spur-winged lapwingEnglish
  • Indian spur-winged ploverEnglish
  • أبو طيط نهريArabic
  • fredeluga fluvialCatalan
  • čejka říčníCzech
  • cornchwiglen afonWelsh
  • FlodvibeDanish
  • BachkiebitzGerman
  • FlusskiebitzGerman
  • rivera vaneloEsperanto
  • Avefría fluvialSpanish
  • jõgikiivitajaEstonian
  • خروسکلی رودخانهایPersian
  • jokihyyppäFinnish
  • Vanneau pieFrench
  • Feadóg abhannIrish
  • קיווית נהרותHebrew
  • riječni vivakCroatian
  • Trulek sungaiIndonesian
  • Pavoncella di fiumeItalian
  • カタグロツバメゲリJapanese
  • カタグロツメバゲリJapanese
  • upinė pempėLithuanian
  • စစ်တလိုင်းငှက်Burmese
  • खोले हुटिट्याउँNepali
  • Indische SporenkievitDutch
  • elvevipeNorwegian
  • czajka rzecznaPolish
  • دریائی لیپونگWestern Panjabi
  • abibe-ribeirinhoPortuguese
  • Речной чибисRussian
  • Индийский чибисRussian
  • cíbik riečnySlovak
  • Rečni vivakSerbian
  • flodvipaSwedish
  • นกกระแตหาดThai
  • Nehir KızkuşuTurkish
  • чайка річковаUkrainian
  • Te cựaVietnamese
  • 凤头麦鸡Chinese
  • 距翅麥雞Chinese
  • 距翅麥雞〔河跳鴴〕Chinese
  • 距翅麦鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the river lapwing

Other species in the same genus Vanellus.

CompareRiver lapwing vs Northern lapwingRiver lapwing vs Red-wattled lapwingRiver lapwing vs Sociable lapwingRiver lapwing vs White-tailed lapwing

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the river lapwing?

An adult river lapwing weighs 143 g – 174.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the river lapwing endangered?

The river lapwing is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the river lapwing?

The river lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii) 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). River lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-lapwing

MLA

“River lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-lapwing.

BibTeX
@misc{river_lapwing_2026,
  title = {River lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/river-lapwing},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}