Wildlife
Lapwings are known locally in the UK as 'peewits' after their shrill call. Their call is not the only distinctive feature - they also have a very characteristic flight pattern.
The common name 'lapwing' is thought to come from the Old English word 'hleapewince' which means leaping with a wink in it. Dense flocks of this once common farmland wading bird still make an impressive sight with their iridescent green and purple plumage shimmering in the sunlight.
Lapwing chicks are renowned for being able to run only moments after hatching.
Scientific name: Vanellus vanellus
Rank: Species
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Field life
Partridges are dive-bombed by protective lapwing parents.
Partridges are dive-bombed by protective lapwing parents.
State of the nation
The drive for agricultural productivity has dramatically reduced UK countryside bird numbers.
The drive for agricultural productivity has dramatically reduced UK countryside bird numbers.
Sentinels
Ground nesting birds co-operate to protect their young from predators.
Ground nesting birds co-operate to protect their young from predators.
In harmony
Even big intensive farms can and do make room for wildlife.
Even big intensive farms can and do make room for wildlife.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Lapwing can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales, Ynys-hir nature reserve. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Lapwing distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Year assessed: 2009
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or (in the British Isles) just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia. It is highly migratory over most of its extensive range, wintering further south as far as north Africa, northern India, Pakistan, and parts of China. It migrates mainly by day, often in large flocks. Lowland breeders in westernmost areas of Europe are resident. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America, especially after storms, as in the Canadian sightings after storms in December 1927 and in January 1966.
It is a wader which breeds on cultivated land and other short vegetation habitats. 3 – 4 eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and including horses and cattle.
In winter it forms huge flocks on open land, particularly arable land and mud-flats.
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Carnivorous
Colonial
Adapted to flying
Acoustic communication
Monogamous
Egg layer
Parental investment
Territorial
Visual communication