View source for Lapwing

{{Short description|Subfamily of birds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Lapwings
| image = Vanellus armatus (taxobox).jpg
| image_caption = [[Blacksmith lapwing]] (''Vanellus armatus'')
| taxon = Vanellinae
| authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1842
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genera]]
| subdivision = 
''[[Erythrogonys]]''<br />
''[[Vanellus]]''<br />
''[[Hoploxypterus]]''<br />
and see text
}}

'''Lapwings''' ([[subfamily]] Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds ([[Family (biology)|family]] [[Charadriidae]]) akin to [[plover]]s and [[dotterel]]s. They range from {{Convert|10 to 16|inch|cm}} in length.

The traditional terms "plover", "lapwing", and "dotterel" do not correspond exactly to current taxonomic models; thus, several of the Vanellinae are often called plovers, and [[Red-kneed dotterel|one]] a dotterel, while a few of the "true" plovers (subfamily [[Charadriinae]]) are known colloquially as lapwings. In general, a lapwing can be thought of as a larger plover.

In Europe's Anglophone countries, ''lapwing'' refers specifically to the [[northern lapwing]], the only member of this group to occur in most of the continent and thus the first bird to go by the English name ''lapwing'' (also known as ''peewit'' or ''pyewipe'').

In the fanciful taxonomy promoted by medieval [[courtesy book]]s, a group of lapwings was called a "deceit".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lipton|first=James|url=https://archive.org/details/exaltationoflark0000lipt_x7z9|url-access=registration|title=An Exaltation of Larks|date=1991|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-30044-0|language=en}}</ref>

==Systematics==
{{See also|Vanellus}}
While authorities generally agree that there are approximately 25 species of Vanellinae, classifications within the subfamily remain confused. Some workers{{who|date=January 2023}} have gone so far as to group all the "true" lapwings (except the [[red-kneed dotterel]]) into the single genus ''Vanellus''. Current consensus favors a more moderate position, but it is unclear which genera to split. The ''[[Handbook of Birds of the World]]'' provisionally places all Vanellinae in ''Vanellus'' except the red-kneed dotterel, which is in the [[monotypic]] ''Erythrogonys''. Its [[plesiomorphic]] [[Morphology (biology)|habitus]] resembles that of [[plover]]s, but details like the missing [[hallux]] (hind toe) are like those of lapwings: it is still not entirely clear whether it is better considered the most [[basal (evolution)|basal]] plover or lapwing.<ref>Piersma & Wiersma (1996), Thomas ''et al.'' (2004)</ref>  The [[International Ornithologists' Union|IOC]] also recognizes a monotypic genus ''[[Hoploxypterus]]'' for the [[pied plover]].

Many coloration details of the red-kneed dotterel also occur here and there among the living members of the main lapwing [[clade]]. Its position as the most [[basal (evolution)|basal]] of the living Vanellinae or just immediately outside it thus means that their [[last common ancestor]] – or even the last common ancestor of plovers and lapwings – almost certainly was a plover-sized bird with a black crown and breast-band, a white feather patch at the wrist, no hallux, and a [[lipochrom]]ic (probably red) bill with a black tip. Its legs were most likely black or the color of the bill's base.<ref name = hbw>Piersma & Wiersma (1996)</ref>

===Evolution===
{{listen | pos = right | filename = Carrington moss birch road.ogg | title = "Birdsong at Carrington Moss" | description = A lapwing and a [[common chaffinch|chaffinch]] at [[Carrington Moss]], in [[England]] | format = [[Ogg]] }}
The [[fossil]] record of the Vanellinae is scant and mostly recent in origin; no [[Neogene]] lapwings seem to be known. On the other hand, it appears as if early in their [[evolution]]ary history the plovers, lapwings and dotterels must have been almost one and the same, and they are hard to distinguish [[osteological]]ly even today. Thus, since the Red-kneed Dotterel is so distinct that it might arguably be considered a [[monotypic]] subfamily, reliably dating its divergence from a selection of true lapwings and plovers would also give a good idea of [[Charadriidae|charadriid wader]] evolution altogether.

A mid-[[Oligocene]] – c.28 mya ([[million years ago]]) – fossil from [[Rupelmonde]] in [[Belgium]] has been assigned to ''Vanellus'', but even if the genus were broadly defined, it is entirely unclear if the placement is correct. Its age ties in with the appearance of the first seemingly distinct Charadriinae at about the same time, and with the presence of more [[basal (evolution)|basal]] Charadriidae a few million years earlier. However, the assignment of fragmentary fossils to Charadriinae or Vanellinae is not easy. Thus, it is very likely that the charadriid waders originate around the [[Eocene]]-Oligocene boundary – roughly 40–30 mya – but nothing more can be said at present. If the Belgian fossil is not a true lapwing, there are actually no Vanellinae fossils known before the [[Quaternary]].<ref>Piersma & Wiersma (1996), Mlíkovský (2002)</ref>

The [[Early Oligocene]] fossil ''[[Dolicopterus]]''<ref>Not ''[[Dolichopterus]]'', ''contra'' Mlíkovský (2002)</ref> from [[Ronzon, France]] may be such an ancestral member of the Charadriidae or even the Vanellinae, but it has not been studied in recent decades and is in dire need of review.<ref>Mlíkovský (2002)</ref>

Apart from the [[prehistoric]] ''Vanellus'', the [[extinct]] lapwing genus ''[[Viator (bird)|Viator]]'' has been described from fossils. Its remains were found in the [[tar pit]]s of [[Talara]] in [[Peru]] and it lived in the [[Late Pleistocene]]. Little is known of this rather large lapwing; it may actually belong in ''Vanellus''.<ref>Campbell (2002)</ref>

The remaining [[Wader|Charadrii]] are highset or chunky birds, larger than many of the [[Scolopacidae|scolopacid waders]]. The evolutionary trend regarding the Charadriidae – which make up most of the diversity of the Charadrii – thus runs contrary to [[Cope's rule|Cope's Rule]].<ref name = hbw />

===List of species in taxonomic order===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
Genus ''[[Vanellus]]''
* [[Northern lapwing]], ''Vanellus vanellus''
* [[White-headed lapwing]], ''Vanellus albiceps''
* [[Southern lapwing]], ''Vanellus chilensis''
* [[Grey-headed lapwing]], ''Vanellus cinereus''
* [[Crowned lapwing]], ''Vanellus coronatus''
* [[Long-toed lapwing]], ''Vanellus crassirostris''
* [[River lapwing]] or spur-winged lapwing, ''Vanellus duvaucelii''
* [[Red-wattled lapwing]], ''Vanellus indicus''
* [[Masked lapwing]], ''Vanellus miles''
* [[Spur-winged lapwing]] or spur-winged plover, ''Vanellus spinosus''
* [[Banded lapwing]], ''Vanellus tricolor''
* [[Blacksmith lapwing]], ''Vanellus armatus''
* [[Black-headed lapwing]], ''Vanellus tectus''
* [[Yellow-wattled lapwing]], ''Vanellus malabaricus''
* [[Senegal lapwing]], ''Vanellus lugubris''
* [[Black-winged lapwing]], ''Vanellus melanopterus''
* [[African wattled lapwing]], ''Vanellus senegallus''
* [[Spot-breasted lapwing]], ''Vanellus melanocephalus''
* [[Brown-chested lapwing]], ''Vanellus superciliosus''
* [[Javanese wattled lapwing]], ''Vanellus macropterus''
* [[Sociable lapwing]], ''Vanellus gregarius''
* [[White-tailed lapwing]], ''Vanellus leucurus''
* [[Andean lapwing]], ''Vanellus resplendens''

Genus ''Hoploxypterus''
* [[Pied lapwing]], ''Hoploxypterus cayanus''

Genus ''Erythrogonys''
* [[Red-kneed dotterel]], ''Erythrogonys cinctus''
{{div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Vanellus}}
* Campbell, Kenneth E. Jr. (2002). A new species of Late Pleistocene lapwing from Rancho La Brea, California [English with Spanish abstract]. ''[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]'' '''104''': 170–174. <small>[[Digital Object Identifier|DOI]]:10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0170:ANSOLP]2.0.CO;2</small> [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1370353 HTML abstract and first page image]
* Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002). ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. <small>{{Listed Invalid ISBN|80-901105-3-8}}</small> [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf PDF fulltext]<!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk121:623-627 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 -->
* Piersma, Theunis & Wiersma, Popko (1996). Family Charadriidae (Plovers). ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.): ''[[Handbook of Birds of the World]]'' (Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks): 384–443, plates 35–39. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. <small>{{ISBN|84-87334-20-2}}</small>
* Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás (2004). A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. ''[[BMC journals|BMC Evol. Biol.]]'' '''4''': 28. <small>{{doi|10.1186/1471-2148-4-28|doi-access=free}} {{PMID|15329156}}</small> [http://www.pubmedcentral.org/picrender.fcgi?artid=515296&blobtype=pdf PDF fulltext] [https://archive.today/20130802041856/http://www.pubmedcentral.org/articlerender.fcgi?artid=515296%23supplementary-material-sec Supplementary Material]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q289448}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vanellinae|*]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]