NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red-wattled Lapwing
Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups not far from water, they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
Wikipedia contributors, Red-wattled lapwing; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:38:46.705681+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783)
- Name authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Common name
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Vanellus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyCharadriidae Leach, 1820
- genusVanellus Brisson, 1760
- speciesVanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Vanellus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sociable LapwingVanellus gregarius (Pallas, 1771) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| River LapwingVanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crowned LapwingVanellus coronatus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-headed LapwingVanellus cinereus (Blyth, 1842) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern LapwingVanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-winged LapwingVanellus melanopterus (Cretzschmar, 1829) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spot-breasted LapwingVanellus melanocephalus (Rüppell, 1845) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-wattled LapwingVanellus malabaricus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Javan LapwingVanellus macropterus (Wagler, 1827) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Senegal LapwingVanellus lugubris (R. Lesson, 1826) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern LapwingVanellus vanellus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banded LapwingVanellus tricolor (Vieillot, 1818) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176489 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7FFJ3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.