Oriental pratincole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oriental pratincole |
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|---|---|
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| In central Thailand | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Glareola
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| Species: |
maldivarum
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The oriental pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) is a cool bird sometimes called the grasshopper-bird or swallow-plover. It belongs to a bird family called pratincoles. Even though it's a type of wader, it often hunts insects in the air, like a swallow!
Contents
What's in a Name?
The name Glareola comes from a Latin word meaning "gravel". This is because pratincoles often build their nests on gravelly ground. The second part of its name, maldivarum, tells us where the first bird of this type was found. It was near the Maldive Islands. This special bird, called a type specimen, was even caught alive at sea and lived for a month eating flies!
What Do They Look Like?
Oriental pratincoles are unique birds. They have short legs but long, pointed wings. Their tails are long and forked, like a swallow's. Their beaks are short, which helps them catch insects while flying.
Their back and head are brown. Their wings are also brown, but the tips of their flight feathers are black. Their belly is white, and the feathers under their wings are a reddish-brown color, called chestnut.
It can be tricky to tell them apart from other pratincoles. For example, the collared pratincole looks very similar and also has chestnut underwings. The black-winged pratincole also has black flight feathers. You need a really good look to spot the differences!
How Do They Live?
Pratincoles are special because even though they are waders (birds usually found near water), they mostly hunt for insects in the air. They fly around like swallows, catching their prey. They can also find food on the ground.
The oriental pratincole likes open areas. You might often see them near water in the evening. This is when they are busy flying around, catching insects for dinner.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Oriental pratincoles lay their eggs right on the ground. They usually lay 2 or 3 eggs at a time.
Where Do They Live?
The oriental pratincole lives in Asia. They breed in places like North Pakistan and the Kashmir region. You can also find them in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indochina, eastern China, Manchuria, and the Philippines.
These birds are migratory. This means they travel long distances. They spend their winters in warmer places. These include the Indomalayan realm and western Australasia.
Amazing Journeys
Sometimes, these birds show up in unexpected places, far from where they usually live. This is called "vagrancy." For example, an oriental pratincole has been seen in Great Britain more than once! The very first time one was spotted in Europe was in England in 1981.
In 2004, something amazing happened in Australia. About 2.5 million oriental pratincoles were seen on Eighty Mile Beach! This was a huge number, much more than ever recorded before. Scientists think that special weather conditions might have caused so many of these birds to gather in one spot.
Gallery
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Non-breeding adult
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Juvenile spotted Tenneri, Tamilnadu
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Stalking insects on the ground
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Breeding adult showing pale buffy throat patch
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Roosting flock at Chilika Lake, coastal India
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