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Downy Chick and Juvenile on Bintan Provided Indonesia’s First Confirmed Red-wattled Lapwing Breeding Record

Young red-wattled lapwing chick hiding in green vegetation
Research · Reproduction & development

A downy chick and later a juvenile provided the first confirmed breeding record of red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) in Indonesia. The observations came from a lowland wetland at Pinang Kencana on Bintan Island in the Riau Islands Province during two visits in January and February 2026.

This was a breeding first, not the species’ first occurrence in Indonesia. Red-wattled lapwings had already been reported from Sumatra and the Riau Islands, including Bintan. A 2021 review discussed a possible range expansion from Malaysia and Singapore but stated that no confirmed Indonesian breeding record was then known.

A downy chick and defensive adults confirmed breeding

On 18 January, observers documented a downy chick accompanied by adult red-wattled lapwings. The adults gave alarm calls, circled close to the observers and performed diversionary movements — behaviour consistent with adults defending young.

The site was a lowland wetland beside a small river in a landscape dominated by cultivated fields and wetland patches. The combination of a downy chick and defensive adults provided direct breeding evidence.

A juvenile was documented one month later

When the site was revisited on 21 February, adults were again present together with a juvenile. The follow-up observation strengthened the evidence that breeding had been successful at the site.

The record establishes reproduction at one locality on Bintan. It does not show how many pairs breed on the island or whether a stable breeding population has become established elsewhere in Indonesia.

The subspecies remains unresolved

The regional subspecies Vanellus indicus atronuchalis occurs in mainland Southeast Asia and had previously been reported from Indonesia. However, subspecies identification was not the main aim of the 2026 study, and the authors did not establish that the Bintan breeding birds belonged to atronuchalis.

Confirming subspecies could help distinguish recent colonisation from nearby Southeast Asian populations from longer-distance dispersal or a previously overlooked local breeding presence. The authors recommend better photographs of diagnostic plumage traits and, if feasible, genetic barcoding.

One breeding site does not define the Indonesian population

Breeding was already known from nearby Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. The Bintan record extends confirmed breeding into Indonesia and shows that at least one Indonesian lowland wetland supported successful reproduction.

The authors recommend targeted surveys in similar habitats across the Riau Islands to determine how widespread the species now is and where else it may be breeding.

Sources and image credit

  1. Syah, A. H., Seperi, Y., & Iqbal, M. (2026). First Breeding Record of Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae) in Indonesia. Bio Palembanica, 3(1), 27–32.Primary open-access field report. A downy chick and defensive adults were documented on Bintan on 18 January 2026; adults and a juvenile were documented on 21 February, providing Indonesia’s first confirmed breeding record.
  2. Goenarto et al. (2021). Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus records in Sumatra, Indonesia: brief history and possible expansion. Stilt 76: 17–20.Context source reviewing earlier Indonesian records and stating that no confirmed breeding record was known at the time.

Image: Hari K Patibanda — red-wattled lapwing chick photographed 23 June 2020; Wikimedia Commons / Flickr; CC BY 2.0. Representative chick image, not the Bintan study bird. · CC BY 2.0 · Source

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