Glareola nuchalis

SUBFAMILY

Glareolinae

TAXONOMY

Glareola nuchalis G. R. Gray, 1849, Fifth Cataract of the Nile, Sudan. Two distinctive subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Collared pratincole, white-collared pratincole, rufous- (or chestnut-) collared pratincole; French: Glaréole auréolée; German: Halsband-Brachschwalbe; Spanish: Canastera Sombría.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

7.1–7.5 in (18–19 cm); 1.5–2.0 oz (43–58 g). Small, charcoal gray, paler below, with white collar (subspecies nuchalis) or rufous collar (subspecies liberiae) on hindneck; legs and base of bill bright red.

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical Africa.

HABITAT

Larger rivers with exposed rocks and sand bars.

BEHAVIOR

Usually in small flocks; perch on exposed rocks in midstream between bouts of aerial foraging. May also perch on riverside trees if rocks submerged. Migratory according to water levels, moving away from rivers that are flooded. Rather silent as a rule. May become tame around human habitations.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Forage both aerially and on rocks mostly at dawn and dusk, catching insects in flight or by running after them. May catch insects around street lights at night.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Nest singly or in small colonies on exposed rocks, laying two eggs in a hollow or crevice of bare rock. Both sexes incubate for about 20 days and feed the chicks for a further 20–30 days when they reach flying age.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened, but some stretches of river may be rendered unsuitable by damming and unseasonal release of water downstream. Rock pratincoles no longer occur in Sudan, where first collected, so numbers are probably declining.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.