Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus Scientific name definitions

28–31 cm; 128–330 g; wingspan 82–87 cm. Metallic glossy green upperparts , blackish crest and bronze scapulars; very broad wings , especially in breeding males. Female has less distinctive head pattern and white flecks on throat. Non-breeding adult has buff face, short crest, and white chin and throat; upperwing-coverts and scapulars have buff fringes. Juvenile similar to non-breeding adult, but has more extensive buff feather fringes , and narrower and browner breastband.

Europe, Turkey and NW Iran through W Russia and Kazakhstan to S & E Siberia, Mongolia and N China. Winters from W Europe, E Atlantic islands and N Africa through Mediterranean, Middle East and Iran across N India to SE China, Korea and S Japan.

Breeds in variety of wide open habitats with short vegetation or bare ground, including various wetlands , heaths, moors, arable and cereal fields, meadows and hayfields, often with other wading birds such as Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa), Common Snipes (Gallinago gallinago), Dunlins (Calidris alpina), Ruffs (C. pugnax) and Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus). In Europe mainly a farmland breeder , but recently recorded nesting on a forestry clear-cut in Sweden (1 Lundberg, D. (2009). [Lapwing Vanellus vanellus breeding in a forest clear-cut]. Ornis Svecica. 19(1): 57–59. (In Swedish with English summary.). Close ). Breeds to c. 1000 m in Europe, but mainly below c. 800 m; in Indian Subcontinent in non-breeding season mainly below 1300 m (2 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) (though recorded to 2800 m in Bhutan) (3 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ) and observed up to 3350 m in Sichuan, SW China (4 King, B. F., and Peng Ji Tai (1991). Some bird observations in Ganzi prefecture of extreme north-west Sichuan, China. Forktail 6:15–23. Close ). Outside breeding season also appears on harvested stubble and ploughed fields, frequently in company of Pluvialis apricaria, and is increasingly using arable fields in winter as opposed to pastureland, at least in parts of NW Europe (5 Gillings, S., Fuller, R.J. and Sutherland, W.J. (2007). Winter field use and habitat selection by Eurasian Golden Plovers Pluvialis apricaria and Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus on arable farmland. Ibis. 149(3): 509–520. Close ). Roosting flocks prefer spacious, old pastures and sometimes appear on mudflats, as well as (recently) on large open roofspaces (6 Calbrade, N., Entwistle, C.A., Smith, A.J. and Spencer, K.G. (2001). Roof assemblies of lapwings and plovers in Britain. British Birds. 94(1): 35–38. Close ).

Migratory and resident. Post-breeding gathers in flocks . Breeding areas vacated as early as beginning of summer, movements starting already in early Jun. Movements during summer mainly westward. British and southernmost breeders partially sedentary; many British birds winter in Ireland. Migration on broad front towards SW takes place in Sept–Nov, and starts with cold spells, with Finnish breeders moving S to Italy or N Africa. Wintering area bordered by 3°C isotherm, but exact S & W distribution depends on weather, although regularly reaches most of Macaronesia (even the Azores), except the Cape Verdes, where very rare (7 Clarke, T. (2006). Birds of the Atlantic Islands. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In SE Asia, scarce as far S as Taiwan at this season (8 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but also reaches Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina (9 Robson, C. (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia. New Holland, London, UK. Close ), while numbers reaching N Indian Subcontinent also strongly influenced by relative weather conditions (2 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), although species appears to be occurring more regularly in Bangladesh in recent years (10 Thompson, P. M., S. U. Chowdhury, E. Ul Haque, M. M. H. Khan, and R. Halder (2014). Notable bird records from Bangladesh from July 2002 to July 2013. Forktail 30:50–65. Close ). Spring migration at peak in early Mar, but can start as early as Jan, with evidence for earlier arrival in recent decades in parts of range (11 Tryjanowski, P., Kuźniak, S. and Sparks, T. (2002). Earlier arrival of some farmland migrants in western Poland. Ibis. 144(1): 62–68. Close , 12 Jenkins, D. and Sparks, T.H. (2010). The changing bird phenology of Mid Deeside, Scotland 1974–263163. Bird Study. 57(4): 407–414. Close ) and an advancing breeding schedule (compared to dates in 1960s) as a result (13 Musters, C.J.M., ter Keurs, W.J. and de Snoo, G.R. (2010). Timing of the breeding season of Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in The Netherlands. Ardea. 98(2): 195–202. Close ); males precede females and breeding grounds typically reoccupied by Apr. Vagrants have reached as far afield as Spitsbergen, Bear I, Jan Mayen, Senegambia (14 Borrow, N., and R. Demey (2001). Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Kenya (15 Jackson, C. (1997). First record of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in East Africa. Scopus. 19: 113–114. Close ), the Philippines (three records, Nov–Jan) (16 Jensen, A. E., T. H. Fisher, and R. O. Hutchinson (2015). Notable new bird records from the Philippines. Forktail 31:24–36. Close ), Borneo (three records, Nov–Jan) (17 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union, and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ), Alaska (one autumn record), E North America (almost annual late Oct–Mar in Newfoundland, sometimes in large numbers, but very rare elsewhere in this region W to Ohio and S to Florida and Georgia, mainly during same period though also recorded in summer) (18 Brinkley, E.S. (2013). The changing seasons: strangers in a strange land. North American Birds. 67(2): 216–228. Close , 19 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), Bermuda, and the Caribbean (Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Martinique and Barbados) (20 Feldmann, P., Benito-Espinal, E. and Keith, A.R. (1999). New bird records from Guadeloupe and Martinique, West Indies. J. Field Orn.. 70(1): 80–94. Close , 21 Buckley, P.A., Massiah, E.B., Hutt, M.B., Buckley, F.G. and Hutt, H.F. (2009). The Birds of Barbados: An Annotated Checklist. BOU Checklist No. 24. British Ornithologists’ Union & British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ).

Feeds on invertebrate prey, primarily earthworms and insects, including larvae and adults of beetles, ants, Diptera flies, moths and crickets; also spiders and snails. On arable fields, adults and chicks take mainly cranefly larvae and earthworms, but evidently not selectively. Study in UK found that proportion of aquatic invertebrates in diet of both species increases as breeding season progresses (22 Källander, H. (2000). Learning the task: age-related differences in the proficiency of Black-headed Gulls kleptoparasitising Lapwings. Ornis Svecica. 10(1): 7–12. Close ). Winter study in E England found that numerically, arthropods (mostly Carabids and millipedes) were main diurnal prey types but, by biomass, small earthworms were major prey items and that nocturnal intake rates were up to 50% higher due to greater reliance on catching large earthworms at night; it also reported that diurnal intake rates were highest during mild weather and on grass and sugar beet stubble, but were lowest on cereal crops, despite this habitat being that most consistently occupied (23 Gillings S. and Sutherland W.J. (2007). Comparative diurnal and nocturnal diet and foraging in Eurasian Golden Plovers Pluvialis apricaria and Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus wintering on arable farmland. Ardea. 95(2): 243–257. Close ). Locates prey both visually and aurally, mostly as bird walks or runs, occasionally pausing to probe ground. Rather frequently feeds by foot-trembling. Diurnal and nocturnal; sometimes even primarily nocturnal on bright, moonlit nights, but flocks are more dispersed when feeding at night (24 Gillings, S., Fuller, R.J. and Sutherland, W.J. (2005). Diurnal studies do not predict nocturnal habitat choice and site selection of European Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) and Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus). Auk. 122(4): 1249–1260. Close ). Kleptoparasitised by Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) (22 Källander, H. (2000). Learning the task: age-related differences in the proficiency of Black-headed Gulls kleptoparasitising Lapwings. Ornis Svecica. 10(1): 7–12. Close ).

Very vocal during breeding season when male’s territorial song given (see also Breeding) during display flight is a highly distinctive, but complex and twangy “ayhrre-willuch-o-weep”, in which the first note is slurred (and easily missed), and contact/alarm calls are equally recognizable, a “pee-wi” or “peeawee”, which gave rise to its older English name, Peewit. In non-breeding season, most regularly heard are a loud, shrill “cheew” or a more plaintive-sounding “cheew-ip” or “wee-ip”, sometimes rising and falling in pitch (a similar call is also given by adults in flight with nest or young in alarm).

Lays mid/late Mar to early Jun overall, with start becoming progressively later in N & E of range. Mostly seasonally monogamous, but sometimes polygamous; in SW Norway, 23–41% of males were polygynous, having two, sometimes three and exceptionally four (25 Hafsmo, J.E., Byrkjedal, I., Grønstøl, G.B. and Lislevand, T. (2001). Simultaneous tetragyny in Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Bird Study. 48(1): 124–125. Close ) mates, whereas 50–77% were monogamous and 0–21% remained unmated (26 Byrkjedal, I., Grønstøl, G.B., Lislevand, T., Pedersen, K.M., Sandvik, H. and Stalheim, S. (1997). Mating systems and territory in Lapwings Vanellus vanellus. Ibis. 139(1): 129–137. Close ), while in NE England 30% of males (especially older than second-year) had more than one mate, while one female (of 64 studied) was polyandrous (27 Parish, D.M.B., Thompson, P.S. and Coulson, J.C. (1997). Mating systems in the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Ibis. 139(1): 138–143. Close ). Territorial during incubation; solitary breeder or loosely colonial, with mean densities 0·6–1·8 pairs/ha, maximum 9 pairs/ha. High degree of site-faithfulness in males, and high degree of natal philopatry, usually nesting within 60 km of hatching site. Males perform dazzling aerial song flight display (see Family Text), during which wingtips produce droning sound (“wup-wup-wup”) and includes a rolling section, as well as dramatic dives and switchbacks (28 Grønstøl, G.B. (1996). Aerobatic components in the song-flight display of male Lapwings Vanellus vanellus as cues in female choice. Ardea. 84(1): 45–55. Close ). Females may sample many males and territories in the course of a short time span (29 Byrkjedal, I., Lislevand, T. and Grønstøl, G. (2013). Rapid sampling of males and territories by female Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus. Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 125(4): 809–811. Close ). Nest a shallow scrape, lined with some (occasionally substantial) vegetation, sited in short grassy vegetation, in wet areas on slight eminence (30 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ). Single-brooded, but will lay replacement clutch if first lost (30 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ) and double-brooding occasionally recorded, with male taking exclusive responsibility for first brood after young hatch and female for the second (31 Blomqvist, D. and Johansson, O.C. (1994). Double clutches and uniparental care in Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, with a comment on the evolution of double-clutching. Journal of Avian Biology. 25(1): 77–79. Close , 32 Parish, D.M.B., Thompson, P.S. and Coulson, J.C. (1997). Attempted double-brooding in the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Bird Study. 44(1): 111–113. Close ). Clutch four eggs , occasionally 2–3 or five, laid on consecutive or alternate days, colour creamy buff or stone, rarely bluish or reddish, marked with black, mean size 47·1 mm × 33·7 mm (30 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ) (range 42·7–50·9 mm × 31·1––35·8 mm in one study) (33 Lykov, E.L. (2004). [Lapwing in conditions of Kaliningrad city: dynamics of spring arriving and breeding biology]. Berkut 13(1): 80–92. (In Russian with English summary.). Close ); clutch completed in five days; incubation 21–30 days (34 Grønstøl, G.B. (1997). Correlates of egg-size variation in polygynously breeding Northern Lapwings. Auk. 114(3): 507–512. Close ), by both sexes (mainly female, especially those partnered with bigamous males) (35 Heygi, Z. and Sasvári, L. (1997). Parental condition and breeding effort in waders. Journal of Animal Ecology. 67(1): 41–53. Close , 30 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close , 36 Grønstøl, G.B. (2003). Mate-sharing costs in polygynous Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus. Ibis. 145(2): 203–211. Close ), starting once last egg laid; downy chick pale brown or cinnamon, with black streaks and blotches and white nape (mean mass 17·5 g) (37 Teunissen, W., Schekkerman, H., Willems, F. and Majoor, F. (2008). Identifying predators of eggs and chicks of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus and Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa in the Netherlands and the importance of predation on wader reproductive output. Ibis. 150(Suppl. 1): 74–85. Close ); chicks tended by both parents, although brooding primarily by female; fledging 33–40 days. Some evidence of intraspecific egg-dumping (38 de Jong, A. (1996). [Abnormally long and narrow Lapwing eggs – a sign of intraspecific nest parasitism?]. Ornis Svecica. 6(1): 75–76. Close ) and one instance of apparent interspecific parasitism, by Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) (39 Hampshire, J.S. and Russell, F.J. (1993). Oystercatchers rearing Northern Lapwing chick. British Birds. 86(1): 17–19. Close ), while a study in Poland reported that lapwings will practice egg-dumping on Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa) and Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus) (40 Niemczynowicz, A., Świętochowski, P., Zalewski, A. and Chętnicki, W. (2015). Facultative interspecific brood parasitism in colonial breeding waterbirds in Biebrza National Park, Poland. Waterbirds. 38(3): 282–289. Close ). Agricultural activities may cause 36% of broods to fail, plus another 32% partial losses of clutches; wet and cold weather can have deleterious effects during chick phase (41 Eglington, S.M., Bolton, M., Smart, M.A., Sutherland, W.J., Watkinson, A. and Gill, J.A. (2010). Managing water levels on wet grasslands to improve foraging conditions for breeding northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Journal of Applied Ecology. 47: 451–458. Close ); other causes of failure are predation, especially by crows, trampling by cattle and flooding, while presence livestock can have additional knock-on effects, e.g. disturbing incubating birds, permitting predators additional opportunities to seize eggs (42 Hart, J.D., Milsom, T.P., Baxter, A., Kelly, P.F. and Parkin, W.K. (2002). The impact of livestock on Lapwing Vanellus vanellus breeding densities and performance on coastal grazing marsh. Bird Study. 49(1): 67–78. Close ). Study in Netherlands identified c. 15 species of predators of eggs and chicks, of which red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) and stoats (Mustela erminea) were among the most frequent (37 Teunissen, W., Schekkerman, H., Willems, F. and Majoor, F. (2008). Identifying predators of eggs and chicks of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus and Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa in the Netherlands and the importance of predation on wader reproductive output. Ibis. 150(Suppl. 1): 74–85. Close ). In optimal habitat, hatching success can be in excess of 70% (43 Berg, Å., Jonsson, M., Lindberg, T. and Källebrink, G. (2002). Population dynamics and reproduction of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus in a meadow restoration area in central Sweden. Ibis. 144(3): E131– E140. Close ) and overall breeding success estimated at c. 61% in Russian study (33 Lykov, E.L. (2004). [Lapwing in conditions of Kaliningrad city: dynamics of spring arriving and breeding biology]. Berkut 13(1): 80–92. (In Russian with English summary.). Close ), whereas in contrast hatching success just 21% in SE Sweden (44 Ottvall, R. (2005). Boöverlevnad hos strandängshäckande vadare: den relativa betydelsen av predation och trampskador av betesdjur [Nest survival among waders breeding on coastal meadows: the relative importance of predation and trampling damages by livestock]. Orn. Svecica. 15(1): 89–96. Close ). Highest mortality of hatchlings generally during first ten days, but can remain high throughout fledging period (45 Schekkerman, H., Teunissen, W. and Oosterveld, E. (2009). Mortality of Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chicks in wet grasslands: influence of predation and agriculture. Journal of Ornithology. 150(1): 133–145. Close ). Fledging success varies with year and habitat, but averages 0·2–2·8 fledglings per pair, with multi-year Dutch study reporting maximum of 23% success rate (45 Schekkerman, H., Teunissen, W. and Oosterveld, E. (2009). Mortality of Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chicks in wet grasslands: influence of predation and agriculture. Journal of Ornithology. 150(1): 133–145. Close ). Study in NE England found that average productivity of males increases by c. 40% between one and two years of age and by another 10% between two and three years old, reflecting a 40% increase in proportion of males that breed between one and two years old and an increase in mating success with age coupled with higher breeding success for polygynous males (46 Parish, D.M.B., Thompson, P.S. and Coulson, J.C. (2001). Effects of age, cohort and individual on breeding performance in the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Ibis. 143(2): 288–295. Close ), although in SW Norway researchers found that secondary females often fared poorly (47 Grønstøl, G., Hafsmo, J.E., Byrkjedal, I. and Lislevand, T. (2013). Chick growth and survival in northern lapwings Vanellus vanellus indicate that secondary females do the best of a bad job. Journal of Avian Biology. 44(4): 376–382. Close ). Age of first breeding mostly one year; annual mortality of adults c. 25–30%, first-year birds c. 35–40%. Oldest ringed bird 18 years, 11 months.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Global population thought to number up to 11,000,000 individuals (2006 data) (48 Wetlands International (2015). Waterbird Population Estimates. Wetlands International, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Close ). Estimated 1,590,000–2,580,000 pairs in Europe, of which 500,000–850,000 in Russia, 126,472–286,669 in Latvia, 131,655–229,856 in Netherlands, c. 63,000 in UK (in 1998, a 49% decline since 1987) (49 Wilson, A.M., Vickery, J.A. and Browne, S.J. (2001). Numbers and distribution of Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus breeding in England and Wales in 1998. Bird Study. 48(1): 2–17. Close ), 100,000–160,000 in Belarus, 92,000–120,000 in Finland, 90,000–120,000 in Poland, 65,000–130,000 in Romania, 63,000–100,000 in Germany (2005–2009 data) (50 Gedeon, K., C. Grüneberg, A. Mitschke, C. Sudfeldt, W. Eikhorst, S. Fischer, M. Flade, S. Frick, I. Geiersberger, B. Koop, M. Kramer, T. Krüger, N. Roth, T. Ryslavy, S. Stübing, S. R. Sudmann, S. Steffens, F. Vökler, and K. Witt (2014). Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten [Atlas of German Breeding Birds]. Stiftung Vogelmonitoring Deutschland und Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten, Münster, Germany. Close ), and > 20,000 pairs each in Ukraine, Sweden, Hungary and Estonia (51 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ). Very rare breeder in Faeroes and Iceland, while populations at S edge of breeding range (Morocco, Israel) have noticeably declined or become extinct, respectively. More than 25,000 birds winter in SW Asia, c. 20,000 birds in Iran, 10,000–25,000 birds in SC Asia; more than 25,000 birds in E & SE Asia (including c. 7500 in lower R Yangtze floodplain) (52 Barter, M., L. Cao, L. Chen, and G. Lei (2005). Results of a survey for waterbirds in the lower Yangtze floodplain, China, in January–February 2004. Forktail 21:1–7. Close ), and this population is increasing. In winter (Nov), 1,000,000–1,500,000 birds present in Netherlands and 100,000–200,000 in Denmark; in Jan, 314,000 in Britain (Jan counts in 1990s) (53 Rehfisch, M.M., Austin, G.E., Armitage, M.J.S., Atkinson, P.W., Holloway, S.J., Musgrove, A.J. and Pollitt, M.S. (2003). Numbers of wintering waterbirds in Great Britain and the Isle of Man (1994/1995–1998/1999): II. Coastal waders (Charadrii). Biological Conservation. 112: 329–341. Close ), where population has shifted eastwards at this season since 1980s (54 Gillings, S., Austin, G.E., Fuller, R.J. and Sutherland, W.J. (2006). Distribution shifts in wintering Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria and Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in Britain. Bird Study. 53(3): 274–284. Close ), although 70,000 gathered on Somerset Levels in SW England in winter 2010/11 (55 Pitches, A. (2012). News & Comment: Mixed fortunes for wintering waterbirds. British Birds. 105(11): 692–693. Close ). Breeding area expanding northwards throughout range, mainly following extensive, man-made water meadows. However, European population decreased in 19th and early 20th centuries, probably as result of intensification of land use, drainage and egg-collecting, and same now happening in many E parts of range; due to habitat shift to agricultural land, numbers thereafter increased, until recent decades, when population of W Europe in decline again, apparently caused by intensifying and changing agricultural practices, resulting in reduced breeding productivity (56 Triplet, P., Urban, M., Erlinger, D., Sournia, A. and Sueur, F. (2004). Vanneau huppé Vanellus vanellus et élevage: résultat de dix années de suivi en Basse Vallée de la Somme (Somme) [Eurasian Lapwing Vanellus vanellus and cattle rearing: results of ten years of monitoring of the lower Somme valley]. Alauda. 72(3): 221–226. Close , 57 Wilson, A.M., Ausden, M. and Milsom, T.P. (2004). Changes in breeding wader populations on lowland wet grasslands in England and Wales: causes and potential solutions. Ibis. 146(Suppl. 2): 32–40. Close , 58 Roodbergen, M. and van der Werf, B. and Hötker, H. (2012). Revealing the contributions of reproduction and survival to the Europe-wide decline in meadow birds: review and meta-analysis. Journal of Ornithology. 153(1): 53–74. Close ); on arable fields, clutch destruction during cultivation and poor chick survival can result in insufficient productivity to maintain a stable population, while loss of spring tillage may also be a contributory factor (59 Milsom, T.P. (2005). Decline of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus breeding on arable farmland in relation to loss of spring tillage. Bird Study. 52(3): 297–306. Close ). Even on organic farms, where densities may be higher, nesting success can be still be comparatively low (60 Kragten, S. and de Snoo, G.R. (2007). Nest success of Lapwings Vanellus vanellus on organic and conventional arable farms in the Netherlands. Ibis. 149(4): 742–749. Close ). Retaining high water level tables throughout the breeding season appears to be an important condition of nesting success (61 Bellebaum, J. and Bock, C. (2009). Influence of ground predators and water levels on Lapwing Vanellus vanellus breeding success in two continental wetlands. Journal of Ornithology. 150(1): 221–230. Close , 41 Eglington, S.M., Bolton, M., Smart, M.A., Sutherland, W.J., Watkinson, A. and Gill, J.A. (2010). Managing water levels on wet grasslands to improve foraging conditions for breeding northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Journal of Applied Ecology. 47: 451–458. Close ) and is unlikely to be achieved in many areas without highly proactive management, while measures to prevent ground-dwelling predators accessing chick-rearing areas have also been tested with some success (62 Rickenbach, O., Gruebler, M.U., Schaub, M., Koller, A., Naef-Daenzer, B. and Schifferli, L. (2011). Exclusion of ground predators improves Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chick survival. Ibis. 153(3): 531–542. Close ). Marked decreases in recent decades in SW Norway (63 Byrkjedal, I., Kyllingstad, K., Efteland, S. and Grøsfjell, S. (2012). Population trends of Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew and Eurasian Oystercatcher over 15 years in a southwest Norwegian farmland. Ornis Norvegica. 35: 16–22. Close ), S Sweden, and in large parts of Britain (e.g., 38% decline in lowlands of England and Wales between 1982 and 2002) (64 Wilson, A.M., Vickery, J.A., Brown, A., Langston, R.H.W., Smallshire, D., Wotton, S. and Vanhinsbergh, D. (2005). Changes in the numbers of breeding waders on lowland wet grasslands in England and Wales between 1982 and 2002. Bird Study. 52(1): 55–69. Close , 65 Colhoun, K., Mawhinney, K. and Peach, W.J. (2015). Population estimates and changes in abundance of breeding waders in Northern Ireland up to 2013. Bird Study. 62(3): 394–403. Close ), Netherlands, Germany (e.g. in Schleswig-Holstein) (66 Busche, G. (2011). Brutbestandstrends vom Großen Brachvogel (Numenius arquata) und anderen Wiesenlimikolen: starke Rückgänge auf Grünland im Westen Schleswig-Holsteins von 1968 bis 21761765. Vogelwarte. 49(1): 1–8. Close ) and Czech Republic (67 Reif, J., Voříšek, P., Šťastný, K., Bejček, V. and Petr, J. (2008). Agricultural intensification and farmland birds: new insights from a central European country. Ibis. 150(3): 596–605. Close , 68 Hanzelka, J., Telenský, T. and Reif, J. (2015). Patterns in long-term changes of farmland bird populations in areas differing by agricultural management within an Eastern European country. Bird Study. 62(3): 315–330 Close ). European population has fallen by 55% since 1980 (69 PECBMS (2015). Trends of common birds in Europe, 2015 Update. Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme. European Bird Census Council, Prague and BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. http://www.ebcc.info/index.php?ID=587. Close ), and estimated to be still decreasing by 30–49% in 27 years (three generations) (51 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ), despite partial success of agri-environment schemes, funded by the European Union, designed to assist this and other bird species, in part because implementation of such projects has been too localized and also because some species possess complex ecological requirements (70 Breeuwer, A., Berendse, F., Willems, F., Foppen, R., Teunissen, W., Schekkerman, H. and Goedhart, P. (2009). Do meadow birds profit from agri-environment schemes in Dutch agricultural landscapes? Biological Conservation. 142: 2949–2953. Close , 71 O’Brien, M. and Wilson, J.D. (2011). Population changes of breeding waders on farmland in relation to agri-environment management. Bird Study. 58(4): 399–408. Close , 72 Smart, J., M. Bolton, F. Hunter, H. Quayle, G. Thomas, and R. D. Gregory(2013). Managing uplands for biodiversity: do agri-environment schemes deliver benefits for breeding lapwing Vanellus vanellus? Journal of Applied Ecology 50(3):794–804. Close ). A similar ‘large decline’ was noted in African–Eurasian flyway population during the period 1988–2012 (73 Nagy, S., Flink, S. and Langendoen, T. (2014). Waterbird Trends 1988–214212: Results of Trend Analyses of Data from the International Waterbird Census in the African-Eurasian Flyway. Wetlands International, Ede, Netherlands. Close ). Given widespread and sustained population declines, since 2015 this species is considered Vulnerable in Europe (51 BirdLife International (2015). European Red List of Birds. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ), and globally Near Threatened. A European management plan was published in 2009 (74 Petersen, B.S. (2009). European Management Plan 273739–27311: Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). European Commission Technical Report 2009–033. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Close ).