Christopher Taylor Bird Nature Wildlife Mammal Photography
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Crowned Plover Picture

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The Crowned Lapwing, Vanellus coronatus (also Crowned Plover) is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and southwestern Africa. It is an adaptable and numerous species, with bold and noisy habits. It is related to the more localised Black-winged and Senegal Lapwings, with which it shares some plumage characteristics.


The Crowned Lapwing is easily recognised by its combination of brown and white colours, with most tellingly, a black crown intersected by an annular white halo. Adults are noisy and conspicuous.


Habitat and numbers


Although generally outnumbered by Blacksmith Lapwings, they are the most widespread and locally the most numerous lapwing species in their area of distribution. Their numbers have increased in the latter part of the 20th century after benefiting from a range of human activities. They live up to 20 years.



Crowned Lapwings and the more localised Black-winged Lapwings sometimes associate and do not show mutual aggression, even within breeding territories. Different Crowned Lapwing males do however posture aggressively when nesting territories are established. The loser in an encounter assumes a special posture to signal his defeat.





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