CreatureData

Sociable lapwing

Vanellus gregarius (Pallas, 1771)

CRCritically Endangeredbirds

The sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) is a species in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 200 g to 252.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius)
Photo: andrewbazdyrev · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the sociable lapwing

Weight
200 g – 252.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
64 cm – 76 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
29 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.2 – 3.6src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the sociable lapwing?

SOCIABLE LAPWING · WINGSPAN 76 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 76 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the sociable lapwing is about 45% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the sociable lapwing live?

Not recorded

What is the sociable lapwing?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), referred to as the sociable plover in the UK, is a wader in the plover family. It is a fully migratory bird, breeding in Kazakhstan and wintering in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, and Sudan with a very small wintering population in Iberia. Historical literature referred to this bird as the black-bellied lapwing.

From the Wikipedia article “Sociable lapwing” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sociable_lapwing&oldid=1363167074), 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 sociable lapwing endangered?

The sociable lapwing is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Critically Endangered species.

How is the sociable lapwing classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyCharadriidae
  6. genusVanellus
  7. SpeciesVanellus gregarius (Pallas, 1771)

Synonyms Charadrius gregarius, Chettusia gregaria, Chettusia gregaria gregaria, Chettusia gregaria gregaria, Tringa fasciata, Tringa keptuschka, Vanellus gregarious

Other names and names in other languages (73)
  • Sociable ploverEnglish
  • Sociable ploverEnglish
  • SOLAEnglish
  • دحروجArabic
  • الزقزاق الأنيسArabic
  • زقزاق إجتماعيArabic
  • زقزاق الأنيسArabic
  • قطقاط اجتماعيArabic
  • Chudía charlaAragonese
  • Çığırğan cüllütAzerbaijani
  • КрэчаткаBelarusian
  • Степна калугерицаBulgarian
  • Kernigell-stepennBreton
  • Kornigell-stepennBreton
  • Corriol pit-roigCatalan
  • fredeluga gregàriaCatalan
  • keptuška stepníCzech
  • Cwtiad HeidiolWelsh
  • cornchwiglen heidiolWelsh
  • Cwtiaid HeidiolWelsh
  • SteppevibeDanish
  • HerdenkiebitzGerman
  • SteppenkiebitzGerman
  • ΣτεπογιαννήςGreek
  • ΑγελοκαλημάναGreek
  • stepvaneloEsperanto
  • Avefría sociableSpanish
  • stepikiivitajaEstonian
  • خروس کولی اجتماعیPersian
  • arohyyppäFinnish
  • SandvípaFaroese
  • Vanneau sociableFrench
  • SteppeljipWestern Frisian
  • PilibínIrish
  • pilibín ealtúilIrish
  • SaotharcógIrish
  • קוית להקניתHebrew
  • קיווית להקניתHebrew
  • lilebíbicHungarian
  • ՃախրուկArmenian
  • SteppuvepjaIcelandic
  • Pavoncella gregariaItalian
  • マミジロゲリJapanese
  • マミヒロゲリJapanese
  • ველის პრანწიაGeorgian
  • ТарғақKazakh
  • SteppepiwitschLuxembourgish
  • stepinė pempėLithuanian
  • stepes ķīvīteLatvian
  • തലേക്കെട്ടൻ തിത്തിരിMalayalam
  • Venewwa tal-Qtajja'Maltese
  • Хээрийн хавтгалж - ᠬᠡᠬᠡᠷᠠ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠬᠠᠪᠲᠠᠭᠠᠯᠵᠢMongolian
  • वेनेल्लुस ग्रेगारिउसNepali
  • steppekievitDutch
  • steppevipeNorwegian
  • czajka towarzyskaPolish
  • abibe-sociávelPortuguese
  • Vanel da rotschaRomansh
  • Nagâţ de stepăRomanian
  • Nagâț de stepăRomanian
  • КречеткаRussian
  • КречёткаRussian
  • ÁdjoláfolNorthern Sami
  • cíbik stepnýSlovak
  • stepska pribaSlovenian
  • Stepski vivakSerbian
  • stäppvipaSwedish
  • Sürmeli KızkuşuTurkish
  • КречіткаUkrainian
  • чайка степоваUkrainian
  • 長腳麥雞Chinese
  • 黃頰麥雞Chinese
  • 黄颊麦鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the sociable lapwing

Other species in the same genus Vanellus.

CompareSociable lapwing vs Northern lapwingSociable lapwing vs Red-wattled lapwingSociable lapwing vs White-tailed lapwingSociable lapwing vs Grey-headed lapwing

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the sociable lapwing?

An adult sociable lapwing weighs 200 g – 252.2 g and has a wingspan of 64 cm – 76 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the sociable lapwing endangered?

The sociable lapwing is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the sociable lapwing?

The sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) 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). Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sociable-lapwing

MLA

“Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sociable-lapwing.

BibTeX
@misc{sociable_lapwing_2026,
  title = {Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sociable-lapwing},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}