Temminck’s Courser
Cursorius temminckii
Short grasslands. Rufous cap and lower breast; white underbelly and legs.
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Fairly common resident. A small, white-legged, rufous-capped courser; cf. [Burchell’s Courser] and larger [Crowned Lapwing]. Immature is speckled buff on upper parts and crown. May call a sharp ‘err-err-err’ in flight. Pairs and small groups occur on freshly burned or well-grazed grassland and airfields. Stands with erect stance, then runs rapidly forward before stopping briefly to feed; occasionally bobs its head and tail. Nomadic.
Quick Facts
Size
23 cm - M
Names
A: Trekdrawwertjie
Z: uNobulongwana
Ss: Mokopjwane Wa Leboya
G: Temminckrennvogel
Bird Family
Pratincoles are migratory and nomadic birds with very short legs in relation to the length of their bodies. At rest or in their elegant, often erratic flight they resemble terns. They feed mostly in the air, in flocks. Their calls are of a ‘kip-kip-kip…' nature. The related coursers are more lapwing-like with erect stance, but unlike plovers lack a hind toe; they are terrestrial feeders. Sexes are alike in both groups.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
