Biology
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Often found in enormous flocks of hundreds or even thousands of birds, the insectivorous black-winged pranticole forages for grasshoppers, crickets, swarms of locusts, beetles, ants, wasps, bees, dragonflies and many more flying insects. It usually hunts in early morning and late evening, capturing most of its food while flying, but also by running swiftly along the ground after prey (2).
It migrates huge distances, leaving its Eurasian breeding grounds in September for southern Africa. In its winter range it is nomadic, following swarming insect prey, until it travels the great distance back, arriving in its breeding area again in April and May (2). In the Black Sea region, the black-winged pranticole breeds from March to July, nesting on open ground in colonies consisting of hundreds of pairs. The nest is a simple scrape, lined with a few dry plant pieces. Clutches of three to four eggs are incubated by both parents and five to six weeks after hatching the chick is independent (2).
Conservation
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The black-winged pranticole is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (3), under which the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) was developed, which calls upon party countries to engage in a wide range of conservation actions for birds dependent on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycle (6). The black-winged pranticole is listed on Annex 2 of AEWA (6), resulting in the publication of a conservation action plan, which details actions required to stabilise or increase populations of this species (5).
Description
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In appearance this bird may be fairly unremarkable, but the black-winged pranticole is notable for the incredible migrations it undertakes. Its plumage is brown tinged with olive, with a white belly and rump. As its name suggests, the wings are black, as is its deeply forked tail. The pale yellow throat is bordered by a narrow black band, and the black bill has a small patch of red at the base. Juvenile black-winged pranticoles differ from adults by their mottled blackish plumage and their dull white throat lacks the black border (2).
Habitat
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In its breeding range, the black-winged pranticole inhabits dry, salted soils, with sparse vegetation and batches of bare ground, overgrazed pastures and occasionally ploughed fields (2) (5). It always occurs close to rivers, lakes, wet meadows or the sea (2). In southern Africa, the black-winged pranticole can be found in high altitude grassland or low-lying mudflats (2)
Range
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The black-winged pranticole has a large breeding range, from Romania, east through Ukraine to south-west Russia and north Kazakhstan. It migrates to southern Africa, where it spends winter in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and occasionally in West Africa (2) (4).
Status
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Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1), and listed on Appendix II of CMS (3).
Threats
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Populations of the black-winged pranticole have been declining since the end of the 19th century, with the population declining sharply in the 1990s, particularly in southern Russia (5). These declines are thought to be due to the extensive ploughing of their breeding habitat for the development of arable agriculture and increasing numbers of corvids, (the crows, magpies and ravens), which are predators of the ground-nesting pranticoles (5). While some grazing is essential in maintaining the pranticole's optimum habitat, overgrazing can be detrimental through the trampling of eggs and chicks (5). As well as the loss of its breeding habitat, the black-winged pranticole may be affected on its wintering grounds by the use of pesticides (2), and agricultural practices and grassland degradation which may have reduced the area of suitable habitat (4).
Black-winged pratincole
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The black-winged pratincole (Glareola nordmanni) is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name commemorates the Finnish-born zoologist and explorer Alexander von Nordmann.[2]
Description
It is 24–28 cm (9.4–11.0 in) long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail. It has a short bill, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white and the underwings are black. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the collared pratincole and the oriental pratincole which may occur in its range. It is marginally larger than the collared pratincole, and is shorter-tailed and longer legged. Although the dark underwing and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing are diagnostic, these features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing of the collared pratincole appears black unless excellent views are obtained.
Distribution and habitat
The black-winged pratincole is a bird of open country and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. This pratincole is found in warmer parts of south-east Europe and south-west Asia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, and is rare north or west of the breeding range.
Behaviour
Breeding
Its 2–4 eggs are laid on the ground.
Feeding
An unusual feature of the pratincoles is that, although classed as waders, they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.
Conservation
The black-winged pratincole is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The Acanthocephalan parasite Apororhynchus paulonucleatus was discovered in the intestine of the black-winged pratincole.[3]
References
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Black-winged pratincole: Brief Summary
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Illustration by
Johann Friedrich Naumann The black-winged pratincole (Glareola nordmanni) is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name commemorates the Finnish-born zoologist and explorer Alexander von Nordmann.
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