Vanellus senegallus
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.
These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep-peep call.
This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.
The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Wattled plover - Species text in The... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 2 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 3 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 4 | Maputo | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 5 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 7 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report an African Wattled Lapwing sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 280 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to April
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an African Wattled Lapwing in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, against about 40% in August–September and November, the lowest months. Those are among Niokolo-Koba National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 300 mm in August. May–July and October have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Wattled 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 28 parks where we can rate African Wattled Lapwing sightings, Niokolo-Koba National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Vanellus
The closest relatives of the African Wattled Lapwing that you can see in Niokolo-Koba National Park (genus Vanellus, Lapwings) are Spur-winged Lapwing (about 60%), White-headed Lapwing (about 40%) and Black-headed Lapwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Wattled Lapwing is recorded against all the birds logged in Niokolo-Koba National Park (280 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.
