Senegal Thick-knee
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| Senegal Thick-knee | ||||||||||||||
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| Burhinus senegalensis Swainson, 1837 |
The Senegal Thick-knee, Burhinus senegalensis, is a Stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae.
It is a resident breeder in Africa between the Sahara and the equator, and in the Nile valley.
Senegal Thick-knees are medium-large waders with strong black and yellow black bills, large yellow eyes — which give them a reptilian appearance — and cryptic plumage. The scientific name refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs.
They are similar but slightly smaller than the Stone Curlew, which winters in Africa. The long dark bill, single black bar on the folded wing, and darker cheek stripe are distinctions from the European species. Senegal Thick-knee is striking in flight, with a broad white wing bar.
This species has a preference for dry open habitats with some bare ground, preferably near water. It lays two blotchy light brown eggs on a ground scrape. It is most active at dawn and dusk. The song is a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi.
Food is insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates. It will also take other small prey.
[edit] References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Burhinus senegalensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] Further Reading
The field characters of this species and its separation from Stone-curlew are described in:
- Shirihai, Hadoram (1994) Field characters of Senegal Thick-knee British Birds 87(4):183-186
[edit] External links
- Senegal Thick-knee videos on the Internet Bird Collection
