White-tailed Lapwing
Vanellus leucurus
- Family
- Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The white-tailed lapwing or white-tailed plover (Vanellus leucurus) is a wader in the lapwing genus. The genus name Vanellus is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus, which refers to a winnowing fan. The specific leucurus is from Ancient Greek leukouros, "white-tailed".
This medium-sized lapwing is long-legged and fairly long-billed.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds inland central Türkiye eastward to northwestern Afghanistan and southward from Persian Gulf to southwestern Pakistan; winters to Eritrea and Persian Gulf regions eastward to southwestern Pakistan.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: White-tailed lapwing
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.