Black-winged Pratincole vs Small Pratincole

Black-winged Pratincole

Glareola nordmanni

Medium97 gGrassland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

Small40 gRiverine

This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown. The wings are grey above with black primaries and black and white bars at the rear edge of the inner flight feathers. The underwings are mainly black. The tail is white with a black terminal triangle. The belly is white.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Lorensonowal · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-winged Pratincole and Small Pratincole.