Blacksmith Lapwing
Vanellus armatus
Also known as: Blacksmith Plover
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
156 g
About This Species
Look for this striking black, white and grey lapwing on short grassland, pans, dam edges and floodplains across southern Africa, often in pairs that stand conspicuously in the open rather than hiding in vegetation. Its loud, metallic, hammering call, which gives the bird its name, is frequently the first clue to its presence and is used persistently to mob intruders near a nest. Any time of year can produce a sighting, but the breeding season brings the most vocal and visible defensive displays as pairs guard nests on bare ground.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep well back from any pair calling persistently or performing distraction displays, since this almost always signals a nearby nest or chicks on open ground that are easily trampled if you are not watching your footing.
- Ground-nesting birds like this receive general wildlife protection across most of southern Africa, though enforcement and specific rules differ between countries, so treat any nesting area with caution rather than assuming a particular country's law applies elsewhere.
- Retreating the way you came, rather than continuing to search the ground nearby, is the safest way to avoid stepping on eggs or chicks.
Seasonal Activity
441,226 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 156 g
Photo
(c) Niall Perrins, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Niall Perrins
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.