Cursorius
| Cursorius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Burchell's courser | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Glareolidae |
| Genus: | Cursorius Latham, 1790 |
| species | |
|
C. cursor | |
Cursorius is a genus of coursers, a group of wading birds. There are four species which breed in Africa and South Asia. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Although classed as waders, they inhabit deserts and similar arid regions. Like the pratincoles, the coursers are found in warmer parts of the Old World. They hunt insects by sight, pursuing them on foot.
Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground.
Species in taxonomic order
- Cream-coloured courser Cursorius cursor
- Somali courser, Cursorius somalensis
- Temminck's courser Cursorius temminckii
- Indian courser Cursorius coromandelicus
- Burchell's courser Cursorius rufus
References
- Hayman, Marchant and Prater, Shorebirds ISBN 0-395-37903-2
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