Charadriiformes / Glareolidae / Glareola
Oriental Pratincole
Glareola maldivarum · 普通燕鸻
Introduction
A wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae, native to Asia. It breeds across a wide range from North Pakistan and Kashmir to eastern China, Manchuria, and the Philippines, migrating to winter throughout the Indomalayan realm and northern Australia. Distinctive for hunting insect prey on the wing like swallows despite being classified as a wader, and for nesting on the ground.
Description
Has short legs, long pointed wings, and long forked tails. The bill is short, an adaptation for aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white and the underwings are chestnut. Non-breeding adults show a pale buffy throat patch, while juveniles are spotted.
Identification
Very good views are needed to distinguish from other pratincoles. The collared pratincole is very similar and also has chestnut underwings. The black-winged pratincole shares black upperwing flight feathers but lacks a white trailing edge to the wing. The chestnut underwing often appears black unless excellent views are obtained.
Distribution & Habitat
Native to Asia, breeding from North Pakistan and Kashmir sporadically southwards towards the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Indochina, eastern China, Manchuria, and the Philippines. Migratory, wintering throughout the Indomalayan realm and northern Australia. Rare vagrant north or west of the breeding range, with records in Great Britain, including Suffolk, England in June 1981. A congregation of 2.5 million birds was recorded on Eighty Mile Beach, Australia, on 7 February 2004.
Behavior & Ecology
Typically hunts insect prey on the wing like swallows, though it can also feed on the ground. Often seen near water in open country in the evening hawking for insects. Nests on the ground, laying 2–3 eggs.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Genus
- Glareola
Distribution
breeds patchily in grassland near water from western India and Sri Lanka eastward to southeastern Siberia and southward to Philippines; winters grassy fields of islands of northern Indian Ocean and Indian Peninsula eastward through northern Australia and western Micronesia
Vocalizations
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
