Vanellus malabaricus
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The yellow-wattled lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus) is a lapwing that is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is found mainly on the dry plains of peninsular India and has a sharp call and is capable of fast flight. Although they do not migrate, they are known to make seasonal movements in response to rains. They are dull grey brown with a black cap, yellow legs and a triangular wattle at the base of the beak. Like other lapwings and plovers, they are ground birds and their nest is a mere collection of tiny pebbles within which their well camouflaged eggs are laid. The chicks are nidifugous, leaving the nest shortly after hatching and following their parents to forage for food.
The yellow-wattled lapwing was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux in 1781. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. This plate was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 7 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-wattled Lapwing sighting in Gir National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 89th most-seen of the 135 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-wattled Lapwing in Gir National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and October, the lowest months. That is one of Gir National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 330 mm in July. July and August have too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-wattled Lapwing sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
7th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Yellow-wattled Lapwing sightings, Gir National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%), Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%) and Kanha National Park (India, about 20%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-wattled Lapwing is recorded against all the birds logged in Gir National Park (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
