Vanellus spinosus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular names
English : Spur-winged lapwing
French : Vanneau à éperons

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Charadriidae
Notes : No subspecies known

Identification
Adults can grow up to 28 cm in length for a weight of 177 g. Small lapwing with thin black legs and black bill. Back and wings dull brown. Rest of plumage black with lower cheeks and sides of neck, and undertail, snowy white.

Range and habitat
The species lives in Africa, from Mauritania to Sudan and Ethiopia, south to North Tanzania, north in the Nile valley. Scattered populations in Middle-east to Iran. Lives in dry grasslands, beaches, dunes, cultivated fields, always near water.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species is common and its range is expanding with irrigation scheme works being carried in the area. South-east Europe population is very scarce.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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