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Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) Alternate name(s): "Common Pratincole", "Red-winged Pratincole" German name(s): "Rotflügel-Brachschwalbe" Size: 24-28 cm; wing span: 60-70 cm Body mass: 60-98 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.12-0.16

Europe: Family Group 9 Family Group 9 Table Red Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Eurasian Stone-curlew Black-winged Stilt Pied Avocet Collared Pratincole Eurasian Oystercatcher Common Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Grey Plover European Golden Plover Eurasian Dotterel Sociable Lapwing Northern Lapwing Spur-winged Lapwing Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Collared Pratincoles have a predominantly brownish-grey plumage. The head (except for the throat) neck, chest, mantle and inner wing feathers are brownish-grey. The lighter, creamy to off-white lower chest, belly, vent and undertail coverts contrast with the folded black flight feathers. cream-coloured. During the breeding season they have a rufous throat patch that is surrounded by a neat black margin that ends under the eyes. In eclipse the throat patch and black margin become pale or disappear and the colours of the plumage become duller. The slightly hooked, sturdy bill is black, with a clearly visible bright-red base to the lower mandible during the breeding season that disappears in eclipse. The irises are dark and the legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles are duller and greyer than non-breeding adults. Their underparts are white, while the upperparts are a cryptic brownish-grey, with a prominent scaly structure. The bill is all dark-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Collared 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 Collared Pratincole is available HERE . There are 2 extant races of Collared Pratincoles, which are a partly migratory species. Nominate race "pratincola" is migratory. They overwinter in sub-Saharan and eastern Africa, while their breeding grounds range from areas around the Mediterranean Sea in the West, via Asia Minor and areas around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, to central Asia, Pakistan and India in the East. Race "fuelleborni" is mostly sedentary, staying in parts of sub-Saharan and eastern Africa. There are two more breeding areas in the southern half of Africa where they do not stay over winter. In Europe Collared Pratincoles are breeding migrants from the South, staying mostly in suitable habitats around the Mediterranean Sea. Apart from near-coastal breeding sites in the southern half of Iberia, on Sardinia, Sicily and in a few locations in Italy and around the Greek coastline, there is a breeding site on the Danube in Hungary. Their major stronghold in Europe is the valley of the Tejo river, from Lisbon upstream to the centre of Spain. They are found as vagrants in parts of northern Europe and occur more regularly, but still infrequently, in Britain and Ireland. Collared Pratincoles have a strong preference for breeding on flat terrain which can be in a variety of shapes, from dry flat country (e.g. salt pans) with sparse vegetation or wet meadows, often in the vicinity of reed beds.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "pratincola" J. Pires reports spotting Collared Pratincoles, nominate race "pratincola", in the Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, in March 2017, and again in June/July 2019. More Collared Pratincoles, nominate race "pratincola", were found by J. Piresat Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, in August 2019. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

Race "pratincola"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage in a hunched stance (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage in an upright stance (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Collared Pratincole in flight; note the characteristic red-brown underwing coverts and the white trailing edge on the inner wing (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2017]

Close-up dorsal/ventral view of a Collared Pratincole in flight; note the forked tail (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Collared Pratincole (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, August 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Collared Pratincole (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, August 2019]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Collared Pratincole (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Embalse de Los Canchales, near Montijo, Spain, August 2019]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Mob

Collared Pratincoles are often found in open habitats, as here, on an estuarine meadow (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2017]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Collared Pratincole with its prey, which looks like a butterfly (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Collared Pratincole in breeding plumage with its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, June 2019]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

colprat_jp_20190717.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact call(?)	© JP
colprat_jp_20190717_2.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls(?)	© JP
colprat_jp_20190717_3.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls(?)	© JP

More Collared Pratincole sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

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