Australian Pratincole

Stilts Pratincole ( Stiltia isabella )

The stilts Pratincole ( Stiltia isabella ) is within the order of Regenpfeiferartigen to the family of Brachschwalbe -like.

Features

The stilts Pratincole differs from all other Pratincoles species by the long legs. Also in other features it resembles more the racing birds. She has a medium length neck and a large, wedge-shaped head. The bird's wings are very long and strongly pointed at the end. Its tail is short, forked and is clearly dominated by the primaries. Your beak is short slightly curved, thin and along the entire length down. The beak shaft is colored orange, the beak is dark. Her big eyes are surrounded by a white Lidring. The throat of the bird is cream colored, the head, neck and breast are yellow-brown. The back and scapulars are reddish brown, the tail and the remaining portions of the wings have a dark brown color. The belly of the stilts Pratincole is beige to white background color, a reddish band between this and the chest. Juveniles are colored gray overall. This Pratincole is 23 inches long.

Way of life

The stilts Pratincole catches their prey ( insects), both in the air and on the ground. They picked on the animals or stretches to capture low-flying insects. At dusk she hunts in the swarm and can ascend very high. The nest is a simple, dug their feet and shaped by body pressure trough bottom. It is sometimes bordered with stones and twigs, but not padded. The two to three eggs have a cryptic to. The young birds leave the nest soon after hatching. The stilts Pratincole is a partial migrant.

Dissemination

This Pratincoles - species breeds in northern Australia, some birds wintering in northern Australia, New Guinea, the Moluccas, Sulawesi, Southeast Borneo and the islands of Timor and Java. It is thus a partial migrant. It inhabits some very dry areas such as deserts and steppes, but is always near water.