Collared pratincole

The collared pratincole (Glareola pratincola), also known as the common pratincole or red-winged pratincole, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. As with other pratincoles, it is native to the Old World.[2]

Collared pratincole
on the ground and in flight
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Glareolidae
Genus: Glareola
Species:
G. pratincola
Binomial name
Glareola pratincola
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Range of G. pratincola
  Breeding
  Resident
  Non-breeding
  Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms

Hirundo pratincola Linnaeus, 1766

Etymology

The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name pratincola means an inhabitant of meadows, from Latin pratum, prati, "meadow" and incola, "inhabitant", from incolere, "to inhabit".[3]

Description

This pratincole is 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) long with a 60–70 cm (24–28 in) wingspan. It has short legs, long pointed wings, a long forked tail, and a short bill, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with darker flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut, but look dark below.

Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the black-winged pratincole and the oriental pratincole, which may occur in its range. The latter species also has a chestnut underwing, but is shorter-tailed.

Subspecies

The collared pratincole is divided into two subspecies:[4]

Behaviour

Feeding

Pratincoles are unusual among waders in that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.

Breeding
In flight, showing dark rufous underwing coverts and deeply forked tail
Clutch in nest
Glareola pratincola boweni

The species lays 2–4 eggs on the ground.

Distribution and habitat

The collared pratincole is a bird of open country, and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. It is found in the warmer parts of Europe, southwest Asia and Africa. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, and is rare north of the breeding range.

Status and conservation

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

Tagairtí
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Glareola pratincola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2010). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Struik Nature. p. 156. ISBN 9781770076235.
  3. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 174, 315–6. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Sandpipers, snipes, coursers". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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