White-crowned Lapwing (Vanellus albiceps)
About the White-crowned Lapwing
The white-crowned lapwing, white-headed lapwing, white-headed plover or white-crowned plover (Vanellus albiceps) is a medium-sized wader. It is resident throughout tropical Africa, usually near large rivers. This lapwing is unmistakable. Its wings and tail are strikingly patterned in black and white, the back is brown and the underparts white. The head is particularly striking, being mainly grey, but with a white crown and foreneck. The eyering, facial wattles and legs are yellow. Females, males and young birds are similar in plumage. It is a wader which breeds on exposed sand or shingle near rivers. 2–3 eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and including the hippopotamus.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 16 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Gabon, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusrecording
- Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicusrecording
- Sociable LapwingVanellus gregariusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.