Oriental Pratincole
Glareola maldivarum
Twisting and turning on long, angular wings, this relative of the sandpipers and plovers gives a swallowlike impression in flight. Adults are brown overall with an elegant black necklace and pale yellow throat. When in flight, note dark flight feathers, chestnut underwing coverts, bright white trailing edge to the wings, and a flashing white rump. Juveniles are a mottled gray-brown above and lack the adult's necklace. Flight call a harsh “tarrack.”
Identification
These birds have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have short bills, 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. The underwings are chestnut. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar collared pratincole, which also has a chestnut underwing, and black-winged pratincole which shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing. These features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing appears black unless excellent views are obtained.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Glareola maldivarum
- Authority
- Forster, JR, 1795
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Genus
- Glareola
Range and habitat
The Oriental pratincole is native to Asia, breeding from North Pakistan and the Kashmir region, sporadically southwards towards the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Indochina, eastern China, Manchuria and the Philippines. It is migratory and winters throughout the Indomalayan realm and western Australasia.
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : patchily in temperate to tropical grassland near water of s to ne Asia: w India and Sri Lanka, se Asia to Malay Pen., e, ne China, Philippines, Taiwan, e Siberia and s, c Japan
- Non-breeding range
- OR, AU : grassy fields of Chagos Arch. and Maldives (wc Indian Ocean), Indian Pen. through Indonesian Arch., Cocos (Keeling), Christmas I. and Ashmore Reef (se Indian Ocean), n WA and n NT (n, nc Australia), Mariana Is. to Palau, Truk, Yap and Marshall Is. (w Micronesia)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-browed Tailorbird
Orthotomus nigriceps
A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense undergrowth in lowland and foothill forest in eastern Mindanao. Has an olive-green back and wings, an olive-green tail often held cocked, a pale gray belly, a black crown, and a white brow. Throat and chest are black in the male and white in the female with streaking around the edge. Similar to Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, especially from behind, but White-browed has black on the head with a white brow. Voice includes monotonous piping notes given in series, or a rapid whistled trill which can be rising or falling.
Spot-flanked Barbet
Tricholaema lacrymosa
Chunky, medium-sized black-and-white barbet. There is a black triangle on the throat and large spots on the sides of the belly. Found in a variety of habitats including moist woodland and gallery forest. Generally in lusher habitats than other closely related barbets. The two main calls are a slow series of “kwaa” notes and a fast series of nasal “kye” notes. Easily separated from similar barbets by the spotted underparts and pale eye.
Greenish Yellow-Finch
Sicalis olivascens
Common in foothills of the Andes, from barren rocky canyons to villages, agricultural terraces, and scrubby hillsides, mainly at lower elevations than Bright-rumped Yellow-Finch, which favors puna habitats. Male is well-named—drab greenish yellow overall. Female is notably drab and nondescript. In all plumages note lack of any streaking or contrastingly bright yellow areas. Compare with longer-winged Greater Yellow-Finch (some overlap of range in winter).
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