Black-winged Pratincole

Glareola nordmanni

Near ThreatenedRareInvertebratesGrasslandScrapeMedium · 97 g

About the Black-winged Pratincole

The black-winged pratincole is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name commemorates the Finnish-born zoologist and explorer Alexander von Nordmann.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

It is 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail. It has a short bill, 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 and the underwings are black. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the collared pratincole and the oriental pratincole which may occur in its range. It is marginally larger than the collared pratincole, and is shorter-tailed and longer legged.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where it lives

Regular rangeRare visitor

Recorded as a rare visitor in France, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Gabon, Tanzania, Estonia, Rwanda, Palestinian Territories.

When to see it

Peak activity in January · a variable species across most of its range

Easily confused with

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