About the Oriental Pratincole
The oriental pratincole, also known as the grasshopper-bird or swallow-plover, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The Oriental pratincole has short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. 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 chestnut. Very good views are needed to distinguish the species from other pratincoles, particularly the very similar collared pratincole, which also has a chestnut underwing. The black-winged pratincole shares the black upperwing flight feathers, and lacks a white trailing edge to the wing.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Oriental Pratincole sounds like
Where the Oriental Pratincole lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Germany, United States, Netherlands, Finland, Réunion, Bhutan, Israel, New Zealand.
When to see the Oriental Pratincole
Peak activity in April · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincolaThis pratincole is 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) long with a 60–70 cm (24–28 in) wingspan.
Small PratincoleGlareola lacteaThis bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail.
Black-winged PratincoleGlareola nordmanniIt is 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail.
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