Cream-coloured Courser
Scientific Name: Cursorius cursorMaltese Name: Nankina
Family: Coursers (Glareolidae)
Occurence: Very Rare
Breeds in Malta: No
Overview:
A semi-desert bird that lives in dry harsh places. It is a distant cousin of the plovers and waders but is rarely seen near water. It has a sandy plumage. Adult has creamy head, neck, breast and upperparts. Has a dark black eye stripe and is separated from its grey hind crown by a white supercilium. Bill is black and slightly curved down and has pale long legs. In flight all birds show black under wings and a black outer wing on the upperside. It is a resident and summer visitor in North Africa and Middle East. Rare elsewhere and vagrant further north. It likes running on flat land.
Status:
Very Rare bird seen mainly on its own or in pairs. Latest records were of 1 in May 2008, 2 in February 2009, and another 1 in February 2009. All of these records were at the Malta International Airport.
When to See:
Mainly recorded in Spring; February till June but due to it being so rare no actual pattern can be traced.
Where to See:
Prefers open spaces. Recent records (2008 - 2009) were at the Malta International Airport where singles spend a few hours or days running on the runway and feeding in the grass.
Photographs:
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Cream-coloured Courser, 22nd May 2008, MIA |
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| Cream-coloured Courser, 22nd May 2008, MIA | 2 Cream-coloured Coursers, 4th February 2009, MIA |
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Cream-coloured Courser, 17th February 2009, MIA |
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