- Glareola cinerea
Identification
18–20 cm
- Light grey upperparts
- Pale chestnut nape
- White rump
- Black eyestripe (curves down behind the eye)
- White supercilium
- Black tail
Distribution
Western Africa: found in rivers of Mali to Cameroon, western Zaire and northwestern Angola.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Usually found on sandbars of large rivers, but also sandy patches in savanna and even airstrips.
Behaviour
Diet
They usually forage in groups; catching insects on the wing, over water. Their diet consists mostly of insects such as small grasshoppers, flies, beetles and spiders.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BF Member observations
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Grey Pratincole. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Pratincole
