Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus Scientific name definitions

c. 34 cm; 160–287 g (1 Dunning, J. B., Jr. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. Second edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. Close ). Large yellow and red wattles; long yellow legs ; yellow bill, with some black on culmen towards tip; black carpal spurs; plumage mainly brown, with white wingbar  and black flight-feathers. Female has less black on throat. No seasonal variation. Juvenile has very small wattles; chin and throat whitish with black streaks; less white on forehead. Race <em>major</em> virtually identical to nominate, but usually larger; lateralis has blackish line on belly, in front of legs, and solid black bill tip.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Wide variety of lowland habitats; in Ethiopia and rest of E Africa occurs up to 2200 m, with occasional wandering to 2350 m in Malawi (3 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Often near water , but also found in dry places; frequents marshes or areas of grass near lakes, ponds, rivers and streams; also savanna, fields with short grass (e.g. airports), cultivated land and wasteland, flooded rice fields, pools, burnt grassland. Has been found to associate with termite mounds, which are used as lookout posts. In Sierra Leone, shares wet grassland with V. spinosus and dry grassland with V. lugubris, without rivalry.

Resident and dispersive, sometimes nomadic. Movements dependent on water levels and rains, but overall patterns none too clear. In parts of W Africa (Mali, Chad) moves N in wet season, but also southward migration in Nigeria; only an uncommon visitor to Liberia (4 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ). In E Africa and Rwanda apparently resident, with some local movements, but has wandered once to NW Somalia (late Aug) (5 Ash, J. S., and J. E. Miskell (1998). Birds of Somalia. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). Only seasonally present in some areas of SE Africa, but resident in others. May gather outside breeding season in newly available habitat.

Chiefly insects, such as grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, crickets, termites and various aquatic insects; also worms and grass seeds. Regurgitated pellets contained insect remains and coarse grass. Does not normally forage in typical plover style; instead, walks slowly, pauses with one leg raised, takes one step or jumps, and grabs prey; also probes in base of grass tufts and uses foot-trembling. Occasionally gathers in large groups of up to 60 individuals (6 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Vocal Development

Little information. Chicks said to be silent (7 Urban, E. K. J., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith (1986). The Birds of Africa. Volume 2. Academic Press, London, United Kingdom. Close ).

Vocal Array

Kip. A short nasal kip or yip, typically given in series at stable pace. Notes are symmetrically overslurred, showing as an inverted U on sonogram. Typical note duration 0.07‒0.10s, fundamental frequency max. ⁓1.1kHz but subsequent 2-3 harmonics louder.

Yeep. A drawn-out nasal yeep given in series. Longer in duration than Kip or yip notes, and on sonogram rising slope clearly longer than falling slope. There is however not a clear-cut distinction between longer yip notes and shorter yeep notes . Typical note duration 0.15‒0.30s, fundamental frequency max. ⁓1.25kHz but subsequent 2-3 harmonics louder.

Keweep. A disyllabic ky-ik or keweep, typically uttered in fast series. Note duration ⁓0.10‒0.15s.

Twitter. A fast twittering series of very short nasal notes.

Other. High-pitched piping calls are given by both sexes prior to copulation (8 Little, J.V. (1967). Some aspects of the behaviour of the Wattled Plover Afribix senegallus (Linnaeus). Ostrich. 38: 259–280. Close ).

Geographic variation

Has not been studied in detail. Based on available sound recordings, northern nominate race frequently or predominantly utters Yeep calls, while these have not or hardly been recorded for race major (or alternatively, one could state that Kip/Yeep call type is on average longest in West-Africa, intermediate in NE Africa and shortest in E and S Africa)(PFB).

Phenology

Quite a noisy bird, especially during the breeding season, when highly territorial. Described call types can be heard year-round however.

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Mainly vocal during the day, without a clear daily cycle, but can also be heard frequently at night. Vocal activity mainly determined by daily activities, such as keeping contact with group or family members, alarming for intruders, and breeding activities.

Places of Vocalizing

Vocalises from the ground or when flying, either when flushed or when circling around an intruder. When flying in group, several birds call simltaneously.

Sex Differences

None documented.

Social Content and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

Kip calls are used in a variety of contexts with different intensity (amplitude and pace): soft Kip calls are given when approaching the nest, Kip calls are uttered by adults attending chicks, loud Kip calls are given by a bird landing in its territory, which is usually answered by the mate, and a fast series of Kip calls can be considered an excitement call (8 Little, J.V. (1967). Some aspects of the behaviour of the Wattled Plover Afribix senegallus (Linnaeus). Ostrich. 38: 259–280. Close ). Also during territorial defence, loud kip calling is used in flight, both at the onset of the breeding season against male conspecifics, and against intruders once the territory has been established. Keweep call is an alarm call, given at take-off, when a bird is flushed and during mobbing flights towards an intruder at close range. Twitter calls of a male have been noted during mating (8 Little, J.V. (1967). Some aspects of the behaviour of the Wattled Plover Afribix senegallus (Linnaeus). Ostrich. 38: 259–280. Close ), and also in a seeming conflict between two males over a female.

None documented.

Laying dates geographically very variable, depending on rains; Mar–Jun in Nigeria and season probably identical in Ghana (6 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ); most frequently Jul–Dec in E & S Africa (e.g. Aug–Nov in Malawi and Jul–Nov in Zambia) (3 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close , 9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); Apr–Dec in DRCongo and Rwanda; Feb–Jun in Ethiopia (10 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Monogamous. Observed to be highly territorial, defending feeding territory against conspecifics, but also recorded breeding in small colony of 3–4 pairs. Nest usually on bare ground or in short grass within 100 m of water, frequently near roads or human settlements; shallow depression in ground (c. 150 mm wide by c. 25 mm deep) (11 Urban, E. K., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors (1986). The Birds of Africa. Volume 2. Academic Press, London, UK, and New York, NY, USA. Close ), lined with grass stems, sticks, pebbles and bits of dry dung, which accumulate during incubation, but sometimes without any lining (9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Clutch 2–3 eggs in equatorial regions, four in S Africa, deep cream to pale olive-buff heavily marked with black and dark brown, size 44–53·8 mm × 30·8–36 mm, mass 21·2–25·4 g (11 Urban, E. K., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors (1986). The Birds of Africa. Volume 2. Academic Press, London, UK, and New York, NY, USA. Close ); laying interval 1–2 days; incubation 30–32 days, by both adults, commencing with third egg; chick speckled buff and black, with black patch on crown and back, white forehead and hindneck collar, and underparts yellowish white; chicks feed in adjacent feeding territory, continiously watched by adult, often from hillock; fledging c. 40 days. Young become independent after fledging. Success poorly known, but four out of six nests in Transvaal failed (11 Urban, E. K., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors (1986). The Birds of Africa. Volume 2. Academic Press, London, UK, and New York, NY, USA. Close ). Lifespan at least eight years (11 Urban, E. K., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors (1986). The Birds of Africa. Volume 2. Academic Press, London, UK, and New York, NY, USA. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Population of nominate race estimated at 25,000–60,000 individuals, of which up to c. 5000 in Mali (12 Girard, O., Niagaté, B., Thal, J. and Boutin, J.M. (2009). Les limicoles au Mali, en particulier dans le Delta interieur du Niger. Malimbus. 31(1): 1–19. Close ), while that of race major is thought to number 5000–15,000 birds (13 Delaney, S. and D. Scott, Editors (2002). Waterbird Population Estimates. Third edition. Wetlands International Global Series No. 12. Wageningen, the Netherlands. Close ), with count of 474 along 112-km stretch of R Baro, in Ethiopia, between Gambela and Jikao, in Jan 1973 (10 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Apparently common in much of extensive range, e.g. Gambia and Sierra Leone; not uncommon in Ghana, where probably increasing as are under cultivation expands (6 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ), and Nigeria; fairly common in Malawi and Zambia; locally common in S Africa, but rare in Eritrea (10 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and Chad (14 de Boer, W. F., and F. Legoupil (1993). Observations sur la présence et l’abondance des oiseaux au Tchad. Malimbus 15(1):17–23. Close ). High tolerance of humans and agricultural practices suggests species probably not threatened.