The head is particularly striking, being mainly grey, but with a white crown and foreneck.

Females, males and young birds are similar in plumage.

It is a wader which breeds on exposed sand or shingle near rivers.

The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and including the hippopotamus.

The white-crowned lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.