| Pratincoles | ||||||||||
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Australian Pratincole | ||||||||||
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| † See also Courser |
The Pratincoles are a group of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae . They have short legs, 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. They have short bills, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding.
Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World. Species breeding in temperate regions are long distance migrants.
Their 2-4 eggs are laid on the ground.
The species are: