Vanellus spinosus
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom ยท PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (Vanellus spinosus) is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. The spur-winged lapwing was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the plovers in the genus Charadrius and coined the binomial name Charadrius spinosus. He specified the type locality as Egypt. The specific epithet is from Latin meaning "thorny" (from spina meaning "thorn"). Linnaeus based his account on a description by the Swedish naturalist Fredrik Hasselquist that had been published in 1757. The spur-winged lapwing is now one of 23 species placed in the genus Vanellus that was introduced in 1760 by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The spur-winged lapwing is a medium-large wader with a black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. It has a loud did-he-do-it call. The bird's common name refers to a small claw or spur hidden in...
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxor | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | |
| 2 | Serrekunda | ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia | |
| 3 | Cairo | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | |
| 4 | Dakar | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | |
| 5 | Tel Aviv | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | |
| 6 | Riyadh | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | |
| 7 | Lagos | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | |
| 8 | Jerusalem | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | |
| 9 | Abuja | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | |
| 10 | N'Djamena | ๐น๐ฉ Chad |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 2 | Paris Zoological Park | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 3 | Rรฉserve africaine de Sigean | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 4 | Parc des oiseaux | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 5 | Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorรฉe | ๐ซ๐ท France | |
| 6 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 7 | Minnesota Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 8 | Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 9 | Bronx Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 10 | Kansas City Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 11 | The Maryland Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 12 | Toledo Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 13 | Detroit Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 14 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 15 | Woodland Park Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 16 | Calgary Zoo | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | |
| 17 | Fort Worth Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 18 | Oregon Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 19 | Houston Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 20 | San Antonio Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 21 | Hogle Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 22 | Ueno Zoo | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | |
| 23 | Sacramento Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 24 | Bird Park Steinen | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | |
| 25 | Santillana Zoo | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | |
| 26 | Central Park Zoo | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 27 | Downtown Aquarium, Denver | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 28 | Sobela Ocean Aquarium | ๐บ๐ธ United States | |
| 29 | Bird Kingdom | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | |
| 30 | Seattle Marine Aquarium | ๐บ๐ธ United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Spur-winged Lapwing sighting in Saloum Delta National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 70 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spur-winged Lapwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Spur-winged Lapwing sightings, Saloum Delta National Park ranks 10th at about 40%. The best odds are in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (Senegal, about 80%), Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 60%) and Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Charadriidae
The closest relatives of the Spur-winged Lapwing that you can see in Saloum Delta National Park (family Charadriidae, Plovers and Lapwings) are Black-bellied Plover (about 40%) and Common Ringed Plover (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spur-winged Lapwing is recorded against all the birds logged in Saloum Delta National Park (22 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 "โ". How it works.
