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PLATE 49: COURSER AND PRATINCOLES
Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor PM, WV, rb
L: 24. W: 54. Sandy-buff with distinctive black-and-white head markings joining in ‘V’ on nape;
bill short and downcurved. Erect posture; runs quickly with plover-like behaviour and sudden stops;
prefers running away rather than flying. Flight rapid with long, slightly rounded wings and legs
protruding well beyond tail. Wing pattern distinctive, black outer wing above and black underwing
contrast sharply with rest of plumage. Juvenile lacks grey and black on crown; upperparts, head
and breast have faint brown spots or irregular dark subterminal lines, and primaries are fringed buff.
Sometimes in post-breeding flocks. Voice Flight call is a short kwit-kwit. Habitat Sandy or stony
semi-desert with scanty vegetation, marginal cultivation, arid flat country; post-breeding, also short
grassland, fields and turf farms. Note Post-breeding dispersal and passage hatched.
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola PM, mb
L: 25. W: 63. Distinctive, aerial wader, resembling marsh terns, having graceful fast flight, long
pointed wings, deeply forked tail and short bill. Usually seen in loose flocks chasing winged insects.
On ground, plover-like with quick tripping actions on short legs, often with upright stance, head held
high. Adult has creamy-buff throat bordered black; tail and wing-tips are equal in length. In flight,
uniform dark olive-brown above (slightly darker flight feathers) with narrow, but distinctly white
trailing edge to secondaries, contrasting with white rump and belly; underwing-coverts reddish-
brown, but often look shadowy black. Note: some, juveniles/worn adults may lack or have only
thin white trailing edge to wings. (Black-winged Pratincole has generally darker upperparts, lacks
white trailing edge to wings, and has black underwing-coverts.) Adult non-breeding and juvenile
lack distinct black throat line, and juvenile’s brown feathers have pale tips and fringes; outer tail
feathers are shorter than in adult. Voice Most characteristic call is a tern-like, sharp, chattering
kikki-kirrik and a short check or che-keck. Habitat Sun-baked mudflats and flat, firm plains with low
vegetation, grasslands; often near water. Nests colonially. Note Has bred in N Oman; passage
hatched, a few winter in S Arabia.
Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum No records
L: 23. W: 63. Difficult to identify. Has distinctive features of, and resembles, Collared and Black-
winged Pratincoles closely. Colour of upperparts and lack of white trailing edge to secondaries
(a thin pale fringe may show in fresh-plumaged adult or juveniles) are similar to Black-winged,
but shares reddish-brown underwing-coverts with Collared Pratincole. Told from both in adult
plumage by obviously shorter tail, the tip of which falls short of wing-tip, being best judged when
settled, but shortness of tail is certainly noticeable in flight. Adult has underside of outermost tail
feather with restricted black tip (distal half black in Collared). Combination of features as given
here may sometimes be required for conclusive identification; beware active or suspended moult,
or damaged tail, in Collared Pratincole may produce apparently ‘short-tailed’ individuals. Habitat As
Collared Pratincole. Note Vagrant Iran, UAE. No accepted records for Oman, but a potential vagrant.
Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni V
L: 24. W: 64. Structure and behaviour as Collared Pratincole and often difficult to distinguish between
the two. Adult slightly darker above than Collared, with no contrast between flight feathers and
coverts; lacks white trailing edge to secondaries, and underwing-coverts are jet-black (although
these coverts are reddish-brown in Collared Pratincole this can be hard to assess, and they often
appear dark); tail fork of Black-winged shallower. When perched, wings project beyond tail-tip (in
Collared approximately equal), and shows less red at base of bill. Non-breeding adult and juvenile
resemble corresponding Collared Pratincole but identifiable in flight by wing pattern. Voice Call
resembles Collared, though a little sharper, and in breeding area alarm call is a shorter pwik or
pwik-kik-kik. Habitat Much as Collared, but favours steppe. Note Passage hatched, but rare; vagrant
Bahrain, Iran, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Yemen.
Small Pratincole Glareola lactea pm, wv
L: 17. W: 45. Small, swallow-like pratincole. In flight, appears sandy-grey, black and white with
diagnostic wing pattern: striking, broad white secondaries with narrow black trailing edge and
black primaries; underwing black with striking, broad white panel on secondaries and inner
primaries; slightly forked black-and-white tail. Flight is swift, bouncy and rather swallow-like,
on long and pointed wings. Juvenile resembles adult. Voice Harsh notes recall Black Tern, also a
Little Tern-like tuck-tuck-tuck or ke-terrick-ke-terrick; birds in feeding flocks have high-pitched rolling
prrip. Habitat Dry sandy or muddy areas adjacent to wetlands, over which it hawks for insects.
Note Passage hatched, but rare; vagrant Bahrain, Iran, UAE, Yemen. [Alt: Little Pratincole]