White-tailed Lapwing

Vanellus leucurus

Introduction

A cousin of the Lapwing, this wader has striking yellow legs and occurs near water in central Asia and the Middle East, but is only an extremely rare visitor to Britain.

Added to the British List following a bird at Packington, Warwickshire in July 1975, with a handful of subsequent records.

Key Stats

Status

Very rare

Weight

150g

Seasonality

<1%

BTO Records

514 records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

No current data

No data

No current data

No current data

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

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This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

Species of European Conservation Concern

Least Concern

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Least Concern

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Birds Directive Annex 1

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

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BOU Category

Source

First Record*

Warwickshire, 1975

* First documented occurrence. Most species undoubtedly occurred before this. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Change

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Population trends of this scarce species are not routinely monitored.

Distribution

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This species is a rare vagrant and was recorded during Bird Atlas 2007–11 as shown on the map.

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Breeding Distribution for White-tailed Lapwing

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Distribution Change

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This vagrant is too rarely reported to map distribution change.

Seasonality

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White-tailed Lapwing is a very rare vagrant; a recent long-staying individual accounts for many of these records.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.

Phenology graph — Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about White-tailed Lapwing movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

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View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

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EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for White-tailed Lapwing, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Survival and Longevity

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Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for White-tailed Lapwing

Classification and Codes

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Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Scientific name: Vanellus leucurus
Authority: MHK Lichtenstein, 1823

BTO 2-letter code: VN
BTO 5-letter code: WHTPL
Euring code number: 4920

Alternate species names

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Catalan: fredeluga cuablanca
Czech: keptuška beloocasá
Danish: Sumpvibe
Dutch: Witstaartkievit
Estonian: valgesaba-kiivitaja
Finnish: suohyyppä
French: Vanneau à queue blanche

German: Weißschwanzkiebitz
Hungarian: fehérfarkú lilebíbic
Icelandic: Flóavepja
Italian: Pavoncella codabianca
Latvian: baltastes kivite
Lithuanian: baltauodege pempe
Norwegian: Sumpvipe

Polish: czajka stepowa
Portuguese: abibe-de-cauda-branca
Slovak: cíbik bielochvostý
Slovenian: belorepa priba
Spanish: Avefría coliblanca
Swedish: sumpvipa
Welsh: Cornchwiglen Gynffonwen

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

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