Senegal thick-knee

The Senegal thick-knee (Burhinus senegalensis) is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. Their vernacular scientific name refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs.

Senegal thick-knee
In The Gambia

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Burhinidae
Genus: Burhinus
Species:
B. senegalensis
Binomial name
Burhinus senegalensis
Swainson, 1837
     range

Range

It is a resident breeder in Africa between the Sahara and the equator, and in the Nile valley.

Description
Pair in flight, The Gambia

Senegal thick-knees are medium-large waders with strong black and yellow black bills, large yellow eyes — which give them a reptilian appearance — and cryptic plumage. They are similar but slightly smaller than the Eurasian stone-curlew, which winters in Africa. The long dark bill, single black bar on the folded wing, and darker cheek stripe are distinctions from the European species. Senegal thick-knee is striking in flight, with a broad white wing bar.

Habits and food
Illustration of egg

This species has a preference for dry open habitats with some bare ground, preferably near water. It lays two blotchy light brown eggs on a ground scrape. It is most active at dawn and dusk. The song is a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi.

Food is insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates. It will also take other small prey.

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References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Burhinus senegalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading

The field characters of this species and its separation from Eurasian stone-curlew are described in:

  • Shirihai, Hadoram (1994) Field characters of Senegal Thick-knee British Birds 87(4):183-186
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