Pratincole

Pratincole

Taxobox
name = Pratincoles


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Glareola lactea"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Charadriiformes
familia = Glareolidae
genus = "Stiltia"
genus2 = "Glareola"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.
The Pratincoles 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.

Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding.

Their flight is fast and graceful like a swallow or a tern, with many twists and turns to pursue their prey. They are most active at dawn and dusk, resting in the warmest part of the day.

Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World, from southern Europe and Africa east through Asia to Australia. Species breeding in temperate regions are long distance migrants.

Their two to four eggs are laid on the ground in a bare scrape.

The Australian Pratincole, the only species not in the genus "Glareola", is more terrestrial than the other pratincoles, and may be intermediate between this group and the coursers.

pecies list

*Australian Pratincole "Stiltia isabella"
*Collared Pratincole "Glareola pratincola"
*Oriental Pratincole "Glareola maldivarum"
*Black-winged Pratincole "Glareola nordmanni"
*Madagascar Pratincole "Glareola ocularis"
*Rock Pratincole"Glareola nuchalis"
*Grey Pratincole "Glareola cinerea"
*Little Pratincole "Glareola lactea"

References

* "Shorebirds" by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-395-60237-8


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  • pratincole — [prat′ n kōl, prat′iŋkōl΄] n. [< ModL pratincola < L pratum, meadow (see PRAIRIE) + incola, inhabitant < in , IN 1 + colere, to till: see CULT] any of various small Old World shorebirds (family Glareolidae) with long, pointed wings and a …   English World dictionary

  • Pratincole — Pra tin*cole, n. (Zo[ o]l.) Any bird of the Old World genus {Glareola}, or family {Glareolid[ae]}, allied to the plovers. They have long, pointed wings and a forked tail. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pratincole — /prat ing kohl , prat n /, n. any of several limicoline birds of the genus Glareola, of the Eastern Hemisphere, having a short bill, long, narrow, pointed wings, and a forked tail. [ < NL Pratincola (1756) genus name, equiv. to L prat(um) meadow… …   Universalium

  • pratincole — /ˈprætɪŋkoʊl / (say pratingkohl), /ˈpreɪtɪŋ / (say prayting ) noun 1. → Australian pratincole. 2. → oriental pratincole. 3. any of certain birds of the family Glareolidae, of Eurasia, Africa and Australia, having tern like flight and feeding on… …  

  • pratincole — tikrosios kregždūnės statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Glareola angl. pratincole vok. Brachschwalbe, f rus. тиркушка, f pranc. glaréole, f ryšiai: platesnis terminas – kregždūnės siauresnis terminas – juodasparnė kregždūnė… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • pratincole — noun Etymology: ultimately from Latin pratum meadow + incola inhabitant, from in + colere to cultivate more at wheel Date: 1773 any of several Old World shore inhabiting birds (genera Glareola and Stiltia of the family Glareolidae) with a short… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pratincole — noun /ˈpɹætɪnˌkəʊl/lang=en Any of several species of birds in the genera Glareola or Stiltia of the family Glareolidae …   Wiktionary

  • pratincole — fork tailed, long winged Australian bird Unusual Animals …   Phrontistery dictionary

  • pratincole — [ pratɪŋkəʊl] noun a long winged fork tailed insectivorous bird related to the plovers. [Glareola pratincola (Africa and the Mediterranean) and other species.] Origin C18: from mod. L. pratincola, from L. pratum meadow + incola inhabitant …   English new terms dictionary

  • pratincole — prat·in·cole …   English syllables

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