CreatureData

Southern lapwing

Vanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is a species in the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 270 g to 339.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the southern lapwing

Weight
270 g – 339.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
82 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
27 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
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

How big is the southern lapwing?

SOUTHERN LAPWING · WINGSPAN 82 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 82 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the southern lapwing is about 48% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the southern lapwing live?

Not recorded

What is the southern lapwing?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis), commonly called quero-quero in Brazil, or tero in Argentina and Uruguay, tero-tero in Paraguay, and queltehue in Chile is a wader in the order Charadriiformes. It is a common and widespread resident throughout South America, except in densely forested regions (e.g. most of the Amazon), the higher parts of the Andes, and the arid coast of a large part of western South America. This bird is particularly common in the basin of the Río de la Plata. It has also been spreading through Central America in recent years. It reached Trinidad in 1961, Tobago in 1974, and has rapidly increased on both islands, sporadically making its way North to Barbados where one pair mated, nested, and produced chicks in 2007.

From the Wikipedia article “Southern lapwing” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_lapwing&oldid=1353815703), 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 southern lapwing endangered?

The southern 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 southern lapwing classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyCharadriidae
  6. genusVanellus
  7. SpeciesVanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782)

Synonyms Belanopteryx chilensis, Belonopterus chilensis, Benolopterus chilensis

Other names and names in other languages (54)
  • أبو طيط تشيليArabic
  • Южноамериканска калугерицаBulgarian
  • fredeluga de XileCatalan
  • čejka jihoamerickáCzech
  • čejka jižníCzech
  • Cornchwiglen De AmericaWelsh
  • SydvibeDanish
  • BronzekiebitzGerman
  • sudamerika vaneloEsperanto
  • TeroSpanish
  • AlcaravánSpanish
  • Avefría AlcaravánSpanish
  • Avefría teroSpanish
  • CaravanaSpanish
  • Chorlitazo SureñoSpanish
  • Pellar comúnSpanish
  • Pellar teru teruSpanish
  • QueltehueSpanish
  • Tero comúnSpanish
  • Tero sureñoSpanish
  • TreileSpanish
  • lõunakiivitajaEstonian
  • خروسکلی جنوبیPersian
  • eteläamerikanhyyppäFinnish
  • Vanneau téroFrench
  • Sjileenske LjipWestern Frisian
  • TetẽuGuarani
  • קיווית צ'יליאניתHebrew
  • crnoprsi vivakCroatian
  • pampabíbicHungarian
  • Pavoncella del CileItalian
  • Pavoncella del SudamericaItalian
  • ナンベイタゲリJapanese
  • pietinė pempėLithuanian
  • Tábąąsdísítsoh bítááʼ halzhinígííNavajo
  • Chileense KievitDutch
  • bronsevipeNorwegian
  • Kivit Sur-AmerikanoPapiamento
  • czajka miedzianaPolish
  • TetéuPortuguese
  • abibe-do-sulPortuguese
  • abibe-sul-americanoPortuguese
  • quero-queroPortuguese
  • Кайеннский чибисRussian
  • Кайеннская пигалицаRussian
  • Кайенская пигалицаRussian
  • cíbik čiernočelýSlovak
  • pampska pribaSlovenian
  • Južni vivakSerbian
  • sydamerikansk vipaSwedish
  • Şili KızkuşuTurkish
  • чайка чилійськаUkrainian
  • 凤头距翅麦鸡Chinese
  • 鳳頭距翅麥雞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the southern lapwing

Other species in the same genus Vanellus.

CompareSouthern lapwing vs Northern lapwingSouthern lapwing vs Red-wattled lapwingSouthern lapwing vs Sociable lapwingSouthern lapwing vs White-tailed lapwing

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the southern lapwing?

An adult southern lapwing weighs 270 g – 339.2 g and has a wingspan of 82 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the southern lapwing endangered?

The southern 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 southern lapwing?

The southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) 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). Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/southern-lapwing

MLA

“Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/southern-lapwing.

BibTeX
@misc{southern_lapwing_2026,
  title = {Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/southern-lapwing},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}