Vanellus lugubris
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus) is sometimes called Senegal wattled plover. The Senegal lapwing, lesser black-winged lapwing or lesser black-winged plover (Vanellus lugubris) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is found in the African countries of Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It lives primarily in open grassy habitats.
Senegal lapwing - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 5 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 6 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 7 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 13 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 17 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Lapwing sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 175th most-seen of the 283 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.
February, April and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Lapwing in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–July and November, the lowest months. Those are among uMkhuze Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Senegal 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.
7th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Senegal Lapwing sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 40%), Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 20%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 20%).
Same genus: Vanellus
The closest relatives of the Senegal Lapwing that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (genus Vanellus, Lapwings) are Crowned Lapwing (about 20%) and African Wattled Lapwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Senegal Lapwing is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (55 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.
