Oriental Pratincole
Encyclopedia
The Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum), also known as the Grasshopper-Bird or Swallow-Plover is a wader
in the pratincole
family, Glareolidae.
Their most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as wader
s they typically hunt their insect
prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.
These are bird
s of open country, and are often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. These pratincoles are found in warmer parts of south and east Asia
, breeding from Northern Pakistan and the Kashmir region across into China
and south west. Their 2-3 eggs are laid on the ground. They are migratory
, wintering in both India
and Pakistan
, Indonesia
and Australasia
. They are rare north or west of the breeding range, but, amazingly, this species has occurred as far away as Great Britain
more than once. The first record for the Western Palearctic was in Suffolk
, England
in June 1981.
These bird
s have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have short bills, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut.
Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar Collared Pratincole
, which also has a chestnut underwing, and Black-winged Pratincole
which shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing. These features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing appears black unless excellent views are obtained.
On the 7th of February 2004, 2.5 million Oriental Pratincoles were recorded on Eighty Mile Beach in Australia's north-west by the Australasian Wader Studies Group
. There had previously been no record of this magnitude and it is supposed that weather conditions caused much of the world's population of this species to congregate in one area.
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...
in 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....
family, Glareolidae.
Their most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as 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...
s they typically hunt 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, although they can also feed on the ground.
These are 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 of open country, and are often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. These pratincoles are found in warmer parts of south and east 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...
, breeding from Northern Pakistan and the Kashmir region across into China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and south west. Their 2-3 eggs are laid on the ground. They are migratory
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...
, wintering in both India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. They are rare north or west of the breeding range, but, amazingly, this species has occurred as far away as Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
more than once. The first record for the Western Palearctic was in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in June 1981.
These 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 have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have short bills, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut.
Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar Collared Pratincole
Collared Pratincole
The Collared Pratincole or Common Pratincole, Glareola pratincola, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.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.The Collared Pratincole is a...
, which also has a chestnut underwing, and 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 shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing. These features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing appears black unless excellent views are obtained.
Australasian Wader Studies Group
The Australasian Wader Studies Group , established in 1981, is a special interest group of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia. It publishes a journal, The Stilt, usually twice a year, with occasional extra issues...
. There had previously been no record of this magnitude and it is supposed that weather conditions caused much of the world's population of this species to congregate in one area.