The black-winged pratincole is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name commemorates the Finnish-born zoologist and explorer Alexander von Nordmann.
Region
Eurasian steppes and sub-Saharan Africa (non-breeding)
Typical Environment
Breeds on open steppe and semi-arid grasslands from Ukraine and southwest Russia east to western Kazakhstan, favoring short-sward fields, fallows, and gravelly flats near water. During the non-breeding season it migrates to sub-Saharan Africa, frequenting savannas, floodplains, and open agricultural landscapes. It tends to forage over wetlands and irrigated fields where insect swarms are common. The species avoids dense vegetation and extensive forests, preferring wide, unobstructed vistas for aerial hunting.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Despite being a wader, the black-winged pratincole spends much of its time hunting insects on the wing with swift-like agility. Its dark underwings are a key field mark that separates it from the similar Collared Pratincole. It nests on sparsely vegetated gravel or bare ground across the Eurasian steppe and undertakes long migrations to sub-Saharan Africa for the non-breeding season.
Illustration by Johann Friedrich Naumann
Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
agile, swallow-like with long, pointed wings
Social Behavior
Often breeds in loose colonies on bare or sparsely vegetated ground, with both adults sharing incubation and chick-rearing. Outside the breeding season it forms flocks and roosts communally, especially near water. Displays aerial courtship and performs distraction displays near nests.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft and rolling, with churring prrrt or prree calls given in flight. Calls become more frequent over colonies and during crepuscular feeding, carrying well over open steppe.
