Black-winged pratincole Black-winged pratincole 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. 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. The black-winged pratincole is a bird of open country and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. This pratincole
Oriental pratincole are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar collared pratincole, which also has a chestnut underwing, and black-winged pratincole which shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing. These features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing appears black unless excellent views are obtained. An unusual feature of all pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on