black-winged pratincole
glareola nordmanni latin

Black-winged Pratincole is a bird of open country, and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects.

As with the coursers there are exceptions, particularly the Black-winged Pratincole which breeds and feeds on open steppes.

Black-winged Pratincole is 24-28 cm long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a long forked tail.

The Black-winged Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni) is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae.

Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the Black-winged Pratincole and the Oriental Pratincole, which may occur in its range.

The Black-winged Pratincole is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

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.

Shorter migrations include those of the Madagascar Pratincole, which migrates from its breeding grounds in Madagascar to East Africa; in contrast the Black-winged Pratincole migrates from the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to West and Southern Africa.

Other rarities in recent years include a Baird's Sandpiper, a Broad-billed Sandpiper, a Thrush Nightingale and an Arctic Redpoll, all in 2004, a Stilt Sandpiper in 2005, and a Black-winged Pratincole and a Black-headed Wagtail in 2009.