|
|
|
Oriental Pratincole
(Glareola maldivarum)
: "Grasshopper-bird", "Swallow-plover"
Size: 23-24 cm; wing span 60-65 cm
Weight: 80-100 g (outside the breeding season)
|
|
 |
Similar species |
|
 |
Physical description |
|
Click here for a physical description
Oriental Pratincoles have a predominantly greyish-brown
plumage. During
the breeding
season they have an easily visible rufous throat patch ("bib")
with a prominent white and black fringe. During the
non-breeding
season both throat patch and fringe lose their
lustre and become more inconspicuous. Also the rest of the
plumage becomes
more greyish and thereby duller. The belly and vent are
off-white in eclipse. The eye-rings, which are black
during the
breeding season, turn white.
The underwings are brownish, with dark trailing edges and dark
tips. The irises are black, the bill is pink with a black
tip during the breeding season and dark-grey in eclipse.
The legs and feet are dark-grey.
 |
Twitcher's tip |
|
Compared to Australian
Pratincoles, Oriental Pratincoles have shorter legs that
do not protrude beyond the tip of the forked tail in-flight. They
also have more brownish underwings with dark tips.
|
 |
Taxonomy, classification |
|
See Oriental
Pratincole at Wikipedia .
|
 |
Range, habitat, finding this species |
|
Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Oriental Pratincole is available
HERE
.
Oriental Pratincoles are a migratory species that breeds in the
northern hemisphere.
The range of Oriental Pratincoles extends from northern Arabia
in the West, via India, Sri Lanka, the Andaman islands and the
Maldives into south-eastern Asia (most prominently Myanmar,
Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia) to eastern Asia, as far as
Japan in the East.
In the northern winter large numbers of Oriental Pratincoles
migrate to the South (Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia).
Oriental Pratincoles are non-breeding migrants to
Australia from
the North. In Australia, they usually populate only the tropical
North of the continent, and associated off-shore islands, from about Eighty Mile
Beach in WA, through the Kimberley and the northern half of the
NT, along the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria and into
north-eastern QLD (but not the tip of Cape York peninsula).
There are only occasional reports of them migrating further into
the continent, reaching the western half of WA, the eastern
coastal fringe, the southern coast of VIC and SA, and (very
rarely) the eastern central inland (Lake Eyre Basin, lower
Murray-Darling Basin).
While in Australia, Oriental Pratincoles have a preference for
open habitats such as sand plains, bare ground around swamps or inland claypans. They
have also been found on sandy or rocky beaches.
|
 |
Sightings |
|
Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting an Oriental Pratincole on a beach at Rapid Creek, NT, in December
2015.
J. Greaves reports finding an Oriental Pratincole at Pickertaramoor,
Melville Island, NT, in December 2016.
M. Eaton found an Oriental Pratincole at Newell Beach, QLD, in
December 2018.
|
 |
Photos |
|
 |
ADULT |
|
 |
NON-BREEDING |
|
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
looking at the observer (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, NT, December 2016]
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, NT, December 2016]
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage in an unusual
habitat, a beach
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Rapid Creek, NT, December 2015]
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Newell Beach, QLD, December 2018]
Near-dorsal view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Newell Beach, QLD, December 2018]
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
spreading its wings for take-off, thereby exposing the
characteristic brown underwings (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, NT, December 2016]
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, NT, December 2016]
 |
Food, Diet |
|
Lateral view of an Oriental Pratincole in non-breeding
plumage
taking a cockroach (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Rapid Creek, NT, December 2015]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.