The feature that defines the family from the rest of the order is the bill, which is arched and has the nostrils at the base. The pratincoles 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 coursers 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.
Family Glareolidae (Coursers, Pratincoles)
Cursorius rufus Burchell's Courser 299
Cursorius temminckii Temminck's Courser 300
Rhinoptilus africanus Double-banded Courser 301
Rhinoptilus cinctus Three-banded Courser 302
Rhinoptilus chalcopterus Bronze-winged Courser 303
Glareola pratincola Collared Pratincole 304
Glareola nordmanni Black-winged Pratincole 305
Glareola nuchalis Rock Pratincole 306
- Coursers.jpg (62.5 KiB) Viewed 320 times
That's a rather rare sighting for the Kruger ! Well done !
