|
|
|
Cream-coloured Courser
(Cursorius cursor)
Size: 24-27 cm; wing span ca. 54 cm
|
|
|
 |
Physical description |
|
 Click here for a physical description
The almost all sandy-coloured
plumage
camouflages
Cream-coloured Coursers while hunting for prey on
sandy soil and rock-strewn areas. The belly and vent
are light sandy to creamy-coloured, while the rest of the
body plumage
has a somewhat darker sandy tint. The outer wing feathers
are black, which shows only as a narrow dark stripe when
the wings are folded. Their only distinctive feature is
that they have prominent white supercilia above parallel
black stripes behind the eyes, both of which bend downwards
and meet at the back of the neck. Above this double triangle
of black and white the back of the head is light blue-grey.
Juvenile
Cream-coloured Coursers do not have a blue-grey back of the head,
less colour contrast on the supercilia, a lightly-streaked neck
and a lightly-scalloped pattern on the upperwing coverts.
|
 |
Taxonomy, classification |
|
See
Cream-coloured Courser at Wikipedia  .
|
|
 |
Range, habitat |
|
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 Cream-coloured Courser is available
HERE
.
There are 3 races of Cream-coloured Coursers, which are a
partially migratory species.
The range of permanent residency of race "cursorius" extends
from the Canary islands eastwards and in Africa stretches from
the southern side of the Atlas mountain range in northern Africa
along the northern fringe of the African desert to the Nile delta
and the Sinai peninsula.
Mostly birds that breed in the Atlas mountains will migrate to
sub-Saharan Africa.
The range of race
"bogolubovi" spans from south-eastern Asia Minor to north-western
India. They partially migrate to the Euphrates/Tigris river lowlands
in southern Iraq, parts of the Arabian coastline and into tropical
southern Asia during the northern winters.
Race "exsul" is found only on the Cape Verdian islands.
In Arabia Cream-coloured Coursors are mostly found in semi-desert
country, possibly breeding there. Some birds are also found on
passage between Africa and Asia or spending the northern winters.
They also reach open, especially sandy, country in near-coastal
areas, e.g. in northern Oman.
Cream-coloured Coursors have a strong preference for open country
with little vegetation, which is required for their hunting technique,
by running after prey on the ground. They also nest in open, sandy
terrain.
|
 |
Sightings |
|
Click here for sighting information
Race "bogolubovi"
A Cream-coloured Courser, race
"bogolubovi",
was first seen by us near Sohar, some 200 km West of Muscat, in May 2010.
The photos presented below taken in May 2010 were obtained at Sun
Farms, Sohar (Batinah region). Special permission to enter the
premises for bird photography is hereby most gratefully acknowledged.
|
 |
Photos |
|
Race "bogolubovi"
 |
IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
|
Near-frontal view of a juvenile Cream-coloured Courser; note
the characteristic lightly scalloped pattern on the wings
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]
Lateral view of a juvenile Cream-coloured Courser in flight
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]
 |
Food, Diet |
|
Cream-coloured Coursers feed on insects that they hunt on the ground.
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
