| Habitat and Range | Description | Food | Breeding | Sounds | More Images | Recent Literature |
Pratincoles, coursers
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family: Glareolidae
16 species
widespread in sandy or grassy habitats in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia;
18-30 cm; often with boldly patterned plumages; pratincoles with short bills, long pointed wings, forked tails, short legs, and 4 toes; coursers with long tapered bills, short, broad wings, long legs, and 3 toes; middle toes elongated, often with pectinate claw; outer and middle toes webbed;
hawk insects (pratincoles) or forage for terrestrial invertebrates (coursers);
incubation under high ambient temperatures; sexes similar; monogamous; usually 2-3 eggs; colonial (pratincoles) or dispersed (coursers) nesting; biparental care
(Image taken from Hayman, P. J. Marchant, and Tony Prater. Shorebirds. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1986).