Burchell's Courser

About the Burchell's Courser

Burchell's courser (Cursorius rufus) is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. The name of this bird commemorates the English naturalist William John Burchell. Native to Africa, Burchell's courser is a small, diurnal, and terrestrial bird that lives in the western parts of southern Africa. Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey (usually Harvester Termites) by running on the ground. It principally feeds off of insects and lives in open, short grasslands and burnt veld. It grows up to 22 cm (8.7 in) and on average weighs about 75 g (2.6 oz) as an adult.

Burchell's courser has a graceful figure and an upright posture. It has a blue-grey hind crown which is mainly how it differs from the similar Temminck's courser. It also has a horizontal black band demarcating a white underbelly, and an overall pale rufous colour. Its face features white supercilia above black eye lines, all ending at the back of the neck to form a double V. In terms of feathers, its secondaries are mostly white with a black underwing and brown to grey coverts. Typical of coursers, its bill... Wikipedia →