Double-banded courser
Double-banded courser | |
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In Etosha National Park, Namibia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Glareolidae |
Genus: | Rhinoptilus |
Species: | R. africanus
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Binomial name | |
Rhinoptilus africanus (Temminck, 1807)
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The double-banded courser (Rhinoptilus africanus), also known as the two-banded courser,[2] is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae.
Description
The bird's crown is pale and streaked with brown/black feathers. A narrow black stripe extends from the base of the bill, through the eye to the nape. The cheeks, chin, throat and neck are buff/white flecked with dark brown. The feather of the back and wing coverts are sandy brown with dark centres and broadly edged with white/buff. The short bill is blackish, eyes are dark brown and the legs and feet are pale grey.[3]
Distribution and habitat
The double-banded courser is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania. The bird is widespread enough to have practically no chance of becoming
Behaviour
Breeding
Double-banded coursers breed in
The breeding season varies by country:[7]
Ethiopia - April–June; Somalia - February–July (mainly May–June); Tanzania - November; South Africa - all year, peaking in October–November.
Feeding
The bird eats mostly insects, such as
Subspecies
There are eight subspecies of Rhinoptilus africanus:[9]
- R. a. raffertyi, (Mearns, 1915): Eritrea, eastern Ethiopia & Djibouti
- R. a. hartingi, (Sharpe, 1893): southeast Ethiopia, Somalia
- R. a. gracilis, (Fischer & Reichenow, 1884): Kenya & Tanzania
- R a. bisignatus, (Hartlaub, 1865): southwest Angola
- R. a. erlangeri, (Niethammer & Wolters, 1966): northwest Namibia
- R. a. traylori, (Irwin, 1963): northeast Botswana
- R. a. africanus, (Temminck, 1807): eastern Namibia, central & southeast Botswana & northern South Africa
- R. a. granti, (Sclater, 1921): western South Africa
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Rhinoptilus africanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Rhinoptilus africanus". Avibase.
- ^ "Project Noah".
- ^ "Bird Life".
- ^ "Rhinoptilus africanus". World Bird Info. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Rhinoptilus africanus (Double-banded courser)". Biodiversity Explorer. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ "Double-banded Courser". WorldBirdInfo.net. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ "Rhinoptilus africanus (Double-banded courser)". biodiversity explorer. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Sandpipers, snipes, coursers". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
External links
- Media related to Rhinoptilus africanus at Wikimedia Commons
- Image at ADW
- Double-banded courser - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.