DOUBLE CLUTCHES AND UNIPARENTAL CARE IN LAPWING VANELLUS-VANELLUS, WITH A COMMENT ON THE EVOLUTION OF DOUBLE-CLUTCHING

Biparental care of chicks predominated in 28 Lapwing Vanellus vanellus broods in southwestern Sweden. However, male or female uniparental care occurred in about 30% of the broods. Among 36 marked females, two or three laid double clutches. In these cases both mates shared incubation of the first clutch, but chicks were reared by the male alone. Only females tended eggs and chicks of the second clutch. These findings constitute the first records of double clutches in the Lapwing. The results are discussed in relation to possible evolutionary paths leading to double-clutching.