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.

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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