Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: common
IUCN (global): NT · Near threatened
In Spanish: Avefría europea

Photograph: Roy Lowry, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 28–31 cm
Wingspan: 70–76 cm
Weight: 230 g

Presence in the Strait

Common and irregular winter visitors to open areas, such as meadows and crop fields. Their number in the region depends on the harshness of winter in Central and Northern Europe (400-8,000 birds).

Identification

Unmistakable. Gregarious habits, medium-sized and with striking crest. Upper body covered with dark feathers with brilliant green iridescence, white ear covers and wide black band on chest and throat. Rounded wings with black and white underwings, very striking in flight.

Movements

The first birds usually arrive in October and the last ones leave in April, though the majority do so towards the end of February. Peaks in 2nd hf. November and 2nd hf. January.

Ring recoveries

Germany (26), Holland (8), France (5), Denmark (5), Belgium (4), Czech Republic (4), Switzerland (3) and Austria (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

28 %

Peak in December. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 22 December 1941
Latest record: 8 January 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): NT · Near threatened

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

56 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Germany26
Netherlands8
France5
Denmark5
Belgium4
Czech Republic4

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Sociable Lapwing29–29 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480242

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Roy Lowry, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Northern Lapwing

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery