Stone-curlew

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Stone-curlews

Bush Stone-curlew, Burhinus grallarius

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Burhinidae Mathews, 1912

Genera

Burhinus
Esacus

The Stone-curlews or Thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia.

They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes—which give them a reptilian appearance—and cryptic plumage. The names Thick-knee and Stone-curlew are both in common use, the preference among authorities for one term or the other varying from year to year. The term Stone-curlew owes its origin to the broad similarities with true curlews (which are not closely related). Thick-knee refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs and apparently originated with a name coined in 1776 for B. oedicnemus, the Thick-kneed Bustard.

Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. They are largely nocturnal, particularly when singing their loud wailing songs, which are reminiscent of true curlews.

The diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. Larger species will also take lizards and even small mammals.

Most species are sedentary, but the Stone Curlew is a summer migrant in the temperate European part of its range, wintering in Africa.

[edit] Species

The nine species are:

Picture	Name	Binomial name
	Stone Curlew	Burhinus oedicnemus
No pic	Senegal Thick-knee	Burhinus senegalensis
No pic	Water Dikkop	Burhinus vermiculatus
	Spotted Dikkop	Burhinus capensis
	Double-striped Thick-knee	Burhinus bistriatus
No pic	Peruvian Thick-knee	Burhinus superciliaris
	Bush Stone-curlew	Burhinus grallarius (formerly B. magnirostris, the Bush Thick-knee).
	Great Thick-knee	Esacus recurvirostris
No pic	Beach Stone-curlew	Esacus giganteus (formerly E. magnirostris, the Beach Thick-knee).