Burchell's Courser
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Burchell's courser (''Cursorius rufus'') is a
wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
in the
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. Description Their most unusual feature for birds classed a ...
and
courser The coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that ...
family,
Glareolidae Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The atypical Egyptian plover (''Pluvianus aegyptius''), traditionally placed in this family, is now known to ...
. The name of this bird commemorates the English naturalist
William John Burchell __NOTOC__ William John Burchell (23 July 1781 – 23 March 1863) was an English explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author. His thousands of plant specimens, as well as field journals from his South African expedition, are held by Ke ...
. Native to Africa, Burchell's courser is a small, diurnal, and terrestrial bird that lives in the western parts of southern
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Although classed as
wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s, these are
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
prey (usually Harvester Termites) by running on the ground. It principally feeds off of
insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
and lives in open, short
grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...
and burnt
veld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Bots ...
. It grows up to 22 cm and on average weighs about 75 g as an adult.


Description

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 Temminck's courser (''Cursorius temminckii'') is a bird in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. It is a wader which lives in sub-Saharan Africa. It is noted for laying its dark ash-black eggs in the burnt bushes and grass of the Africa ...
. It also has a horizontal black band demarcating a white underbelly, and an overall pale
rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...
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 A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are s ...
. Typical of coursers, its bill is long, arched down, and of a dark colour like its eyes. Similar to the underbelly, the legs are of a distinctive creamy white. While flying, the Burchell's courser's feet extend past its tail. Females and males look similar, while juveniles lack the rufous colouring, the facial stripes, and the grey hind crown of the adults. They also are
mottled Mottle is a pattern of irregular marks, spots, streaks, blotches or patches of different shades or colours. It is commonly used to describe the surface of plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots o ...
, with black and beige barring. Overall, the Burchell's courser, with its camouflage appearance, blends in with the landscape making it challenging to spot.


Taxonomy

Burchell's courser belongs to the order
Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water an ...
which mainly refers to birds living near water. Characterized by a curved beak and nostrils located at the base of the nose, the Burchell's courser is part of the
Glareolidae Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The atypical Egyptian plover (''Pluvianus aegyptius''), traditionally placed in this family, is now known to ...
family, specifically belonging to the
courser The coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that ...
group. Its genus, ''
Cursorius '' Cursorius '' is a genus of coursers, a group of wading birds. The genus name derive from Latin ''cursor'' meaning "runner". There are five species which breed in Africa and South Asia. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills ...
,'' contains five species, all of which live in the arid parts of the
Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
and display distinctive features such as long legs and short wings. Burchell's courser and its close relative, '' C. cursor'', have at times been referred to as the same species. However, although they have a direct common ancestor, they should not be considered as such. ''C. rufus'' is
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
and does not have any subspecies.


Distribution and habitat

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to Africa, Burchell's courser prefers the warm and dry areas of
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
. Specifically, it is found in most of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, and in parts of
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
(Southwest) and
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
(
Kalahari Basin The Kalahari Basin, also known as the Kalahari Depression, Okavango Basin or the Makgadikgadi basin, is an endorheic basin and large lowland area covering approximately 725,293 km2 covering most of Botswana and Namibia, as well as parts of Angol ...
). Its distribution range occasionally coincides with that of the
Temminck's Courser Temminck's courser (''Cursorius temminckii'') is a bird in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. It is a wader which lives in sub-Saharan Africa. It is noted for laying its dark ash-black eggs in the burnt bushes and grass of the Africa ...
. Burchell's courser inhabits
deserts A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...
or semi deserts with gravel rather than just sand, but also open grasslands with short grass, and sparse, burnt, or overgrazed vegetation. It is often referred as locally nomad based on its movements at the landscape level, possibly travelling due to fluctuations in rainfall. Although it is classified as
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
, Its population is declining, potentially due to its habitat loss on arable lands, inadequate farming practices such as intense
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
and overuse of
pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...
, and other anthropogenic disturbances.


Behaviour

The adults have developed a diversionary display as a strategy against predators. They perform "displacement
brooding Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possib ...
" to distract any potential threats from the nesting area. Even though the chicks are considered
precocial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...
, they lack the heat-loss mechanisms present in the adults to survive the hot climate, and thus need shade to avoid overheating.


Voice

Burchell's courser often prefers to run rather than fly, and will most likely take to the air only when the disturbance is significant. Often referred to as inconspicuous, this bird is mostly quiet on the ground, but becomes vocal when flying, producing a loud
flight call Flight calls are vocalisations made by bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a fou ...
. Thus far, three types of vocalizations it produces have been identified: one throaty "chuk" as it launches in the air, a few "chuk chuk" grunts while flying, and a
contact call Contact calls are seemingly haphazard sounds made by many social animals (such as a chicken's cluck). Contact calls are unlike other calls (such as alarm calls) in that they are not usually widely used, conspicuous calls, but rather short exclamatio ...
consisting of a "kwirrt-kwirrt" or a "kok-kok-kwich". If threatened by a predator, the Burchell's courser may run away from its nest, emitting an
alarm call In animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation in the form of signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators ...
in order to divert the predator.


Feeding

Burchell's courser is predominantly an
insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...
. It uses its long bill to forage the ground and dig up insects. This bird also runs to catch its prey. It has been found to frequently eat from the
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
group, especially
curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. T ...
beetles as its main food source. However, the Burchell's courser tends to have a preference for harvester termites (''Hodotermes'' ''mossambicus'') when available, which can constitute over 50% of its diet. It almost never chooses seeds as a source of nutrition. The yearly frequency of rainfalls affects the food availability and quality, which is the main reason the Burchell's courser travels around.


Breeding

Burchell's coursers may occur in small
flocks Flocking is the behaviour exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Computer simulations and mathematical models that have been developed to emulate the flocking behaviours of birds can also generally be applie ...
but are mostly solitary,
monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...
birds. They have developed an all-year-round breeding strategy due to their nomadic movements, although they often breed just before the
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
between July and December. With a small
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
size, the Burchell's courser only lays two eggs directly on the ground, sometimes surrounded by stools of antelopes, small rocks, or dried up
organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
. The eggs have an oval shape, and look black from afar, but they are actually of a buff colour with many dark markings. There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the
hatching Hatching (french: hachure) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (It is also used in monochromatic representations of heraldry to indicate what the ...
and
fledging Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...
times, but it is believed that both parents participate in the incubation period.


References


External links


Burchell's courser
in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
Burchell's courser ''Cursorius rufus''
at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

at VIREO * ttps://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=burcou2&sort=rating_rank_desc&mediaType=p®ionCode= Burchell's courser photo galleryat eBird {{Taxonbar, from=Q263815
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, an ...
Birds of Southern Africa
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, an ...
Taxa named by John Gould