Burchell's courser

Burchell's courser
C. rufus pair in Namibia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Glareolidae
Genus: Cursorius
Species:
C. rufus
Binomial name
Cursorius rufus
Gould, 1837

Burchell's courser (Cursorius rufus) is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.[2] The name of this bird commemorates the English naturalist William John Burchell.[3]

Native to Africa, Burchell's courser is a small, diurnal, and terrestrial bird that lives in the western parts of southern Africa.[4] Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey[4] (usually Harvester Termites)[5] by running on the ground. It principally feeds off of insects and lives in open, short grasslands and burnt veld.[4] It grows up to 22 cm and on average weighs about 75 g as an adult.[5]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Cursorius rufus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22694116A93439396. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22694116A93439396.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Hancock, Peter; Weiersbye, Ingrid (24 November 2015). Birds of Botswana. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9781400874170. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael (2003). Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds. London: Christopher Helm. p. 72. ISBN 9780713666472.
  4. ^ a b c Ekstrom, J.; Butchart, S.; Malpas, L. (2016). "Species factsheet: Cursorius rufus". BirdLife International. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b Maclean, G.L.; Kirwan, G.M. (2016). "Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive: Burchell's Courser (Cursorius rufus)". Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 11 May 2016.