Glareolidae
Encyclopedia
Glareolidae is a family
of bird
s in the wader
suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincole
s and the courser
s. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover
, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family. The family contains 17 species in five genera.
, which is arched and has the nostrils at the base.
The pratincole
s have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have a buoyant flight that allows them the unusual (for the order) hunting technique of taking their insect
prey on the wing like swallows. The wings also allow for long migrations in some species.
The courser
s have long legs, which are used to run (giving the group its name. The wings are shorter and have a more sustained flight than that of the pratincoles.
distribution, occurring in southern Europe
, Asia
, Africa
(including Madagascar
), and Australia
. The family is thought to have evolved
in Africa, which is where the family achieves its greatest diversity, although fossils of an extinct pratincole have been found in Miocene
deposits in France.
The coursers inhabit are typically found in open and arid environments such as deserts and scrub. The Three-banded Courser and Bronze-winged Courser are exceptions, being found in woodland and usually away from open land. The subfamily is usually also associated with lowland areas, although the Burchell's Courser
is found in southern Africa's Afro-alpine areas. The pratincoles and Egyptian Plover are associated with wetlands, rivers, estuaries and other inland waterways. As with the coursers there are exceptions, particularly the Black-winged Pratincole
which breeds and feeds on open steppes.
Some species of pratincole are long-distance migrants
. Shorter migrations include those of the Madagascar Pratincole
, which migrates from its breeding grounds in Madagascar to East Africa; in contrast the Black-winged Pratincole migrates from the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to West and Southern Africa. The migration, which can measure 10,000 km in distance, is often undertaken as a single non-stop flight and is flown at high altitude. The coursers are not particularly migratory, although the Cream-coloured Courser
does migrate from the northern extremes of its range in the winter. The coursers are fairly nomadic, but do not undertake long distance migrations.
and nocturnal in their habits, and are generally inconspicuous, particularly the woodland species. They are not as social as the highly gregarious and noisy pratincoles, some species of which may also active at dawn and dusk.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincole
Pratincole
The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....
s and the courser
Courser
The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...
s. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover
Egyptian Plover
The Egyptian Plover is a wader, the only member of the genus Pluvianus. Formerly placed in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae, it is now regarded as the sole member of its own monotypic family Pluvianidae....
, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family. The family contains 17 species in five genera.
Description
The feature that defines the family from the rest of the order is the billBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
, which is arched and has the nostrils at the base.
The pratincole
Pratincole
The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....
s have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have a buoyant flight that allows them the unusual (for the order) hunting technique of taking their insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
prey on the wing like swallows. The wings also allow for long migrations in some species.
The courser
Courser
The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...
s have long legs, which are used to run (giving the group its name. The wings are shorter and have a more sustained flight than that of the pratincoles.
Distribution and habitat
The pratincoles and coursers have an Old WorldOld World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
distribution, occurring in southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(including Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
), and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The family is thought to have evolved
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in Africa, which is where the family achieves its greatest diversity, although fossils of an extinct pratincole have been found in Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
deposits in France.
The coursers inhabit are typically found in open and arid environments such as deserts and scrub. The Three-banded Courser and Bronze-winged Courser are exceptions, being found in woodland and usually away from open land. The subfamily is usually also associated with lowland areas, although the Burchell's Courser
Burchell's Courser
The Burchell's Courser Cursorius rufus is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey by running on the ground.This is a small bird that lives in the...
is found in southern Africa's Afro-alpine areas. The pratincoles and Egyptian Plover are associated with wetlands, rivers, estuaries and other inland waterways. As with the coursers there are exceptions, particularly the Black-winged Pratincole
Black-winged Pratincole
The Black-winged Pratincole, Glareola nordmanni, is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae.Their most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the...
which breeds and feeds on open steppes.
Some species of pratincole are long-distance migrants
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
. Shorter migrations include those of the Madagascar Pratincole
Madagascar Pratincole
The Madagascar Pratincole is a species of bird in the Glareolidae family.It is found in Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, possibly Mauritius, and possibly Réunion....
, which migrates from its breeding grounds in Madagascar to East Africa; in contrast the Black-winged Pratincole migrates from the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to West and Southern Africa. The migration, which can measure 10,000 km in distance, is often undertaken as a single non-stop flight and is flown at high altitude. The coursers are not particularly migratory, although the Cream-coloured Courser
Cream-coloured Courser
The Cream-colored Courser, Cursorius cursor, is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey by running on the ground.These coursers are found in...
does migrate from the northern extremes of its range in the winter. The coursers are fairly nomadic, but do not undertake long distance migrations.
Behaviour
The coursers are crepuscularCrepuscular
Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...
and nocturnal in their habits, and are generally inconspicuous, particularly the woodland species. They are not as social as the highly gregarious and noisy pratincoles, some species of which may also active at dawn and dusk.