Oriental Pratincole, 9/10/2012

Some birding friend of mine posted some pictures of Oriental Pratincoles on Facebook. I couldn't wait to go photograph the birds in Dayuan, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. It's already autumn, and the birds were wearing a winter plumage, which is not as pretty as summer plumage. But that's ok. It's already an exciting event to me, since this is the first time I ever take any picture of the Oriental Pratincole. Hopefully I can photograph them too next summer. In northern Taiwan, the Oriental Pratincoles are most seen in Dayuan of Taoyuan County or in Ilan County. People said, like swallows, the Oriental Pratincoles can hunt their insect prey on the wing. This time they rested in a wet farm field, mixing with a large group of all sorts of waterfowls.


adult, winter plumage, taken at Dayuan, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, on 9/10/2012






sub-adult, winter plumage, taken at Dayuan, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, on 9/10/2012



Oriental Pratincole v.s. Little Ringed Plovers



Oriental Pratincole v.s. Wood Sandpiper



video recorded at Dayuan, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, on 9/10/2012

Chinese name:	燕鴴
English name:	Oriental Pratincole
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Glareola maldivarum
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Glareolidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	IUCN lists it as Least Concern, but Taiwan Council of Agriculture of Executive Yuan lists it as "Class III - Other Conservation-Deserving Wildlife".
Migration status:	migratory birds in Summer
Frequency of appearance:	Uncommon in Taiwan
Foods:	insects
Habitat:	wetlands, wet farm fields, dry farm fields, seashores
Altitude:	Low altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear in flocks near wetlands, wet farm fields, etc. Like swallows, they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing. They can play dead or hurt and then run away from enemies when they have a chance.
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 23 cm long. The upperpart is mainly brown,and the underpart is mainly white and light brown. Summer plumage: A thin long black stripe runs from below the eye, along the side neck, to the lower part of the throat, looking like a black necklet. Most part of the bill is black, except the base, which is red. Wings are brown. Back is light brown. Back neck, throat, breast and upper belly are light milk brown. Front neck and lower belly are milky. Tail is blackish brown. Winter plumage: The black necklet disappear or become unapparent. Bill is entirely black. Wings are brown. Back, throat, neck and breast are light brown. Similar species:
Breeding places:	Its range covers Indo-Pacific Islands, parts of northern Australia and parts of Australian inlands, Sri Lanka, etc.
Migration destinations:	Summering in China, Mongolia, the border areas between eastern Rusia and China, North Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Indian sub-continent, etc.
Time photographed:	9/10/2012
Location found:	Dayuan, Taoyuan County, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes: