Pratincole from the term "pratincola" coined by German naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer from the Latin words "prātum" meadow and "incola" resident. Pratincole The pratincoles or greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding. Their flight is fast and graceful like a swallow
Australian pratincole the bill. The chicks then run out to be fed, probably in response to calls by the parents. The Australian Practincole has a repertoire of displays to distract threats, including; The Australian pratincole are known to call during summer thunderstorms. The calls are sweet or plaintive whistles or very soft and muted, trills and loud sharp notes. No differences in calls between males and females have been identified. Four different types of calls have been clearly identified; Flight call- sweet whistling upslurred 'weeteet' or 'quirriepeet'. Calls are usually a series of 3-4 rapid repeated notes and varying in length with