Australian pratincole the tone rising then falling rapidly. Far-contact call- plaintive down-slurred 'tuwhee'. This call is used between mates from the ground near nest and also used to call chicks. Greeting call- gently trilled 'pree' or short phrase 'pree-pree-pippip-pip' which is used during courtship display and when flying to mate. Alarm call- loud sharp notes in increasing intensity 'WIT-itit', 'Weetle-itit' and 'wee-WIT-ititit'. Accompanied at times by distraction displays. Australian pratincole The Australian pratincole ("Stiltia isabella") is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior; it winters to northern and eastern parts of the island, Indonesia and New
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