Vanellus coronatus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	CHARADRIIDAE

Scientific Name:

Vanellus coronatus

Species Authority:

(Boddaert, 1783)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Crowned Lapwing, Crowned Plover
French	–	Vanneau couronné

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Angola; Botswana; Burundi; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Rwanda; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Vagrant: Lesotho
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is not strongly migratory but does make local dispersive movements related to habitat changes^{1, 2}. It moves during the dry season to areas of recent brush fires to breed¹ and departs again for drier areas after breeding² during the rainy season when the grass becomes too high¹. The species breeds semi-colonially and occurs in loosely associated wide-ranging flocks of 10-40 individuals outside of the breeding season (occasionally up to 100-150 especially just after breeding season)¹. The species may also form large communal roosting flocks¹. Habitat It inhabits dry, open, treeless or sparsely wooded habitats, and shows a strong preference for nesting amongst newly sprouted grass on recently burnt grasslands^{1, 3}. It also frequents pastures, Accacia spp.³ short grass savanna^{1, 3}, open patches in bushveld or thornbush^{1, 3}, mopane Colophospermum spp. shrublands³, cultivated land, fallow fields and artificial grasslands¹, avoiding areas where the grass greater than 60 mm tall⁴. The species will tolerate desert conditions³ and is occasionally observed on sand-dunes¹, and although it generally avoids moist ground it may form communal daytime roosts near the edges of or on islands in lakes and rivers¹. Diet Its diet consists of adult and larval insects (e.g. termites, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and ants) and earthworms¹. Breeding site The nest is a scrape or depression in the ground placed amongst newly sprouted grass on recently burnt grasslands, often close to trees that provide shade¹. The species nests semi-colonially, with neighbouring pairs usually spaced between 25 and 50 m part¹.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is not strongly migratory but does make local dispersive movements related to habitat changes^{1, 2}. It moves during the dry season to areas of recent brush fires to breed¹ and departs again for drier areas after breeding² during the rainy season when the grass becomes too high¹. The species breeds semi-colonially and occurs in loosely associated wide-ranging flocks of 10-40 individuals outside of the breeding season (occasionally up to 100-150 especially just after breeding season)¹. The species may also form large communal roosting flocks¹. Habitat It inhabits dry, open, treeless or sparsely wooded habitats, and shows a strong preference for nesting amongst newly sprouted grass on recently burnt grasslands^{1, 3}. It also frequents pastures, Accacia spp.³ short grass savanna^{1, 3}, open patches in bushveld or thornbush^{1, 3}, mopane Colophospermum spp. shrublands³, cultivated land, fallow fields and artificial grasslands¹, avoiding areas where the grass greater than 60 mm tall⁴. The species will tolerate desert conditions³ and is occasionally observed on sand-dunes¹, and although it generally avoids moist ground it may form communal daytime roosts near the edges of or on islands in lakes and rivers¹. Diet Its diet consists of adult and larval insects (e.g. termites, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and ants) and earthworms¹. Breeding site The nest is a scrape or depression in the ground placed amongst newly sprouted grass on recently burnt grasslands, often close to trees that provide shade¹. The species nests semi-colonially, with neighbouring pairs usually spaced between 25 and 50 m part¹.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Vanellus coronatus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012.
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