NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Southern Lapwing
Vanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782)
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.
Southern Lapwing observed in the Parque do Mirim, Indaiatuba, SP, BR.
Kingfisher-Sapphire · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis), commonly called quero-quero in Brazil, or tero in Argentina and Uruguay, tero-tero in Paraguay, and queltehue in Chile is a wader in the order Charadriiformes. It is a common and widespread resident throughout South America, except in densely forested regions (e.g. most of the Amazon), the higher parts of the Andes, and the arid coast of a large part of western South America. This bird is particularly common in the basin of the Río de la Plata. It has also been spreading through Central America in recent years. It reached Trinidad in 1961, Tobago in 1974, and has rapidly increased on both islands, sporadically making its way North to Barbados where one pair mated, nested, and produced chicks in 2007.
Wikipedia contributors, Southern lapwing; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:42:31.159661+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782)
- Name authority
- (Molina, 1782)
- Common name
- Southern 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 chilensis (Molina, 1782)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| 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 |
| 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.
North America
South America
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=176484 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.
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:7FFJ9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.