Vanellus albiceps
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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.
Food is mainly insects and other small invertebrates. This species often feeds in small flocks when not breeding. The white-crowned lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-7099-2034-2 White-crowned plover - Species... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Selous Game Reserve | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 12 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 13 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 14 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Lapwing sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 243 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Lapwing in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against about 50% in January and October, the lowest months. That is one of Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-headed Lapwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate White-headed Lapwing sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Vanellus
The closest relatives of the White-headed Lapwing that you can see in Lower Zambezi National Park (genus Vanellus, Lapwings) are Blacksmith Lapwing (about 50%), Crowned Lapwing (about 20%) and Long-toed Lapwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Lapwing is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (243 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.
