Small Pratincole Glareola lactea Scientific name definitions

c. 15·5–19 cm; 37–44 g (1 Dunning, J. B., Jr. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. Second edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. Close ); wingspan 42–48 cm (2 Roberts, T. J. (1991). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Non-Passeriformes. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. Close ). Above pale sandy grey ; forehead brownish; lores  black; rump and base of tail white, with black subterminal band; primaries black, contrasting with pale coverts, secondaries white with black trailing edge; below  pale rufous-buff, shading to white on lower belly and undertail; underwing  black with white bar across secondaries and inner primaries; bill  black with small amount of red at base; legs dusky to black. Adult non-breeding duller, loses black lores. Differs from G. cinerea by plain head and darker underwing. Juvenile scaled and spotted buff-grey and brownish above; spotted and streaked pale brown below, with all-black bill.

E Afghanistan and Pakistan, through India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to S China (S Yunnan), and thence S & SE through Myanmar to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Scarce non-breeding visitor in Arabian Gulf and Oman.

Large rivers and streams with exposed sandbars, rocky islands and shingle banks, up to c. 1800 m in Himalayas, but just 450 m in SE Asia (3 Robson, C. (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia. New Holland, London, UK. Close ); also coastal marshes, estuaries; also large inland lakes when not breeding.

Locally migratory, depending on water levels of rivers, but present in many breeding areas only Apr–Aug, moving to lower elevations in winter. Mainly or exclusively summer breeding visitor to Bhutan (4 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ), Pakistan (but up to 350 birds recorded in Jan) and NE Afghanistan (5 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); disappears from R Indus in midwinter, though over 500 birds seen together on Indus in Mar. Elsewhere, probably mostly short-range movements reported in response to changing water levels (6 Duckworth, J.W., Davidson, P., Evans, T.D., Round, P.D. and Timmins, R.J. (2002). Bird records from Laos, principally the Upper Lao/Thai Mekong and Xiangkhouang Province, in 1998–2110821108211082. Forktail. 18: 11–44. Close ). Vagrant or uncommon winter visitor W to Yemen, Arabian Gulf (Bahrain, Iran and United Arab Emirates) and Oman, early Nov–late Feb, with occasional records in Mar, Jul and Sept (7 Scott, D.A. (2008). Rare birds in Iran in the late 19647s and 19747s. Podoces. 3(1–2): 1–30. Close , 8 Porter, R., and S. Aspinall (2010). Birds of the Middle East. Second edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 9 Eriksen, J., and R. Victor (2013). Oman Bird List: the Official List of the Birds of the Sultanate of Oman. Seventh edition. Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Close ); also S to Malay Peninsula (as far S as Singapore) in mid Nov to late Jan (10 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close , 11 Bakewell, D. and Kudus, M.R. (2017). An update on the work of the Malaysian Nature Society–Bird Conservation Council Records Committee (MNS-BCC RC) and recent changes in the status of birds in Malaysia. BirdingASIA. 28: 23–38. Close ).

Beetles, bugs, termites, flies and other insects, including dipterans, coleopterans and hemipterans (2 Roberts, T. J. (1991). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Non-Passeriformes. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. Close ). Crepuscular; forages in large flocks on the wing, either high in air or low over water or ground, in zigagging flight like a swallow; may also catch insects by running on ground like plover. When feeding may recall pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus) with which it often flies in twilight.

Gives a raspy, strongly downslurred, short “chirrrt”, given at a rate of 1–2 notes/1–2 seconds, as well as a high, rolling “prrip” or “tiririt” in flight, and a short “tuck-tuck-tuck” given by incubating bird (said to recall house gecko Hemidactylus sp.). Advertising call is Little Tern-like (Sternula albifrons), a rising “temik-temik-temik” (2 Roberts, T. J. (1991). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Non-Passeriformes. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. Close ).

Lays Feb–Apr in India and Sri Lanka; from Mar in Pakistan; Apr–May in Laos (with copulation observed Dec and fledged young Jul) (12 Thewlis, R. M., R. J. Timmins, T. D. Evans, and J. W. Duckworth (1998). The conservation status of birds in Laos: a review of key species. Bird Conservation International 8(Supplement):1–159. Close , 13 Evans, T.D. (2001). Ornithological records from Savannakhet province, Lao PDR, January–July 1997. Forktail 17: 21–28. Close ); early Apr in NE Cambodia (14 Mlíkovský, J. (2004). Significant bird records from north-east Cambodia in March–April 1999. Forktail. 20: 102–104. Close ); eggs as late as third week of Jun in N Vietnam, when other pairs already had fledged young (15 Le, M.H. and Vuong, T.M. (2017). The discovery of breeding colonies of two species of pratincole Glareola sp. on the Red River, Hanoi, Vietnam. BirdingASIA. 28: 39–44. Close ); just-hatched chicks in Mar in Bhutan (4 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ); young in Jun in E Afghanistan. Nests colonially , often dozens of nests together, sometimes with River Terns (Sterna aurantia), Black-bellied Terns (S. acuticauda) or Indian Skimmers (Rynchops albicollis), with individual nests usually 5–10 m apart (2 Roberts, T. J. (1991). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Non-Passeriformes. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. Close ). Nest  a shallow scrape, or no nest at all; on sandbank in river , even up to water’s edge. Clutch 2–3 eggs  (2–4), sandy buff to sandy grey with small reddish-brown, lavender and greyish markings, mean size 25·9 mm × 20·5 mm (3 Robson, C. (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia. New Holland, London, UK. Close ); incubation  17–18 days, by both sexes; during hot hours of day, attentive periods 25–35 minutes long; incoming parent often wets belly plumage before return to nest, to cool eggs. Chick  finely mottled greyish white, pale buff and dusky above  ; narrow black line behind eye; below  white. Chick fed by regurgitation; when threatened, mock-incubation and broken-wing distraction displays frequently performed by adults; fledging period not recorded. Unseasonal rains or snow melt may cause flooding of early clutches, but birds lay again soon after, even as late as Jun.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Total population estimated to be in range 10,000–100,000 birds. Species seems able to survive adequately in large numbers throughout range and is considered to be reasonably tolerant of relatively high levels of human disturbance (12 Thewlis, R. M., R. J. Timmins, T. D. Evans, and J. W. Duckworth (1998). The conservation status of birds in Laos: a review of key species. Bird Conservation International 8(Supplement):1–159. Close , 13 Evans, T.D. (2001). Ornithological records from Savannakhet province, Lao PDR, January–July 1997. Forktail 17: 21–28. Close , 6 Duckworth, J.W., Davidson, P., Evans, T.D., Round, P.D. and Timmins, R.J. (2002). Bird records from Laos, principally the Upper Lao/Thai Mekong and Xiangkhouang Province, in 1998–2110821108211082. Forktail. 18: 11–44. Close ). Flock of 2000 recorded at Chitwan, Nepal, Jan 1983, and c. 1270 observed on upper R Mekong, Laos, in winter (6 Duckworth, J.W., Davidson, P., Evans, T.D., Round, P.D. and Timmins, R.J. (2002). Bird records from Laos, principally the Upper Lao/Thai Mekong and Xiangkhouang Province, in 1998–2110821108211082. Forktail. 18: 11–44. Close ); flocks of a few hundred birds often seen in S Nepal. Has been listed for Kashmir, but status there uncertain (5 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), and known breeding sites in N India apparently just three (Chambal National Wildlife Sanctuary, West Yamuna Canal, Haryana, and Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh) (16 Fernandes, M. and den Besten, J.W. (2013). Some interesting breeding records for Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India. Forktail. 29: 141–143. Close ). Only recently confirmed to breed in Vietnam, from observations made near Hanoi (15 Le, M.H. and Vuong, T.M. (2017). The discovery of breeding colonies of two species of pratincole Glareola sp. on the Red River, Hanoi, Vietnam. BirdingASIA. 28: 39–44. Close ).