Mating systems in the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

• Published in: Ibis
• Main Authors: PARISH, DAVID M. B., THOMPSON, PATRICK S., COULSON, J. C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1997
• Subjects: Vanellus vanellus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1997.tb04513.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1474-919X.1997.tb04513.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1997.tb04513.x

The Lapwing Vanellus vanellus has traditionally been regarded as a monogamous, single brooded species, defending a single territory. Recent studies involving individually recognizable Lapwings have begun to challenge the ubiquity of these statements, with high frequencies of polygyny and the production of second broods being reported. Breeding Lapwings were studied in Upper Teesdale, County Durham, U.K., between 1993 and 1995, where both adults and chicks had been individually colour‐ringed since 1990. A total of 90 territorial males and 64 females were intensively studied during the 3 years. Overall, 30% of territorial males had more than one mate in any year, with 19% more adult males than yearling males mating polygynously. On two occasions, polygynous males simultaneously defended two territories. Five females attempted to produce second broods, and one was polyandrous.