'' Cursorius '' is a genus of
coursers, a group of
wading 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 lightweig ...
s. The genus name derive from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
''cursor'' meaning "runner".
There are five species which breed in Africa and South Asia.
They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Although classed as
wader
245px, A flock of 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 mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s, they inhabit deserts and similar arid regions.
Like the
pratincoles, the coursers are found in warmer 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 th ...
. They hunt insects by sight, pursuing them on foot.
Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Cursorius'' was introduced in 1790 by the English ornithologist
John Latham. The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
was subsequently designated as the
cream-colored courser. The genus name is derive from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
''cursor'' meaning "runner", from ''currere'', "to run".
The genus contains five species:
*
Cream-colored courser (''Cursorius cursor'')
*
Somali courser
The Somali courser (''Cursorius somalensis'') is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.
Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect pr ...
(''Cursorius somalensis'')
*
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, ...
(''Cursorius rufus'')
*
Temminck's courser (''Cursorius temminckii'')
*
Indian courser
The Indian courser (''Cursorius coromandelicus'') is a species of courser found in mainland South Asia, mainly in the plains bounded by the Ganges and Indus river system. Like other coursers, it is a ground bird that can be found in small groups ...
(''Cursorius coromandelicus'')
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q570328
Bird genera