The feature that defines the Glareolidae family from the rest of the order is the bill, which is arched and has the nostrils at the base. They have an Old World distribution, occurring in southern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Insects form the majority of their diet.
Pratincoles have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have a buoyant flight that allows them the unusual (for the order) hunting technique of taking their insect prey on the wing. They are able to capture their prey on the ground as well. They live near wetlands, rivers, estuaries and other inland waterways. The wings also allow for long migrations in some species.
Coursers have long legs, which are used to run (giving the group its name. They feed in a plover-like fashion, running, then stopping to scan for prey before moving on. The wings are shorter and have a more sustained flight than that of the pratincoles. The coursers are typically found in open and arid environments such as deserts and scrub. The coursers are not particularly migratory. [abstracted from Wikipedia]


Genus Glareola

Pratincole, Oriental Glareola maldivarum   Found: Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand
Photographed by:  1, 2) Charles Lam