Eurasian Thick-knee (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Other Names (World)
Eurasian Thick-knee, Stone-curlew, Northern Stone-curlew, European Stone-curlew, Common Thick-knee, Northern Thick-knee, Stone Thick-knee, Thick Knee, Eurasian Stone-curlew

Family
Burhinidae (Thick-knees)

Size
40 - 44 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Dry, open areas, such as chalky soils, arable land, old airfields and heaths.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (B), Albania (B), Algeria, Armenia (B), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B), Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Bulgaria (B) (P), Cambodia (B), China (mainland), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (B) (NB), Czech Republic (B), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France (B) (NB) (P), Georgia (B), Germany (B) (P), Gibraltar, Greece (B) (NB) (P), Guinea, Hungary (B), India (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (B) (P), Israel (B), Italy (B) (NB) (P), Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal (B), Oman, Pakistan (B), Poland (B), Portugal (B) (NB), Qatar, Romania (B), Russia (European) (B), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (B), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (E) (B), Spain (B) (NB), Sri Lanka (B), Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic (B), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand (B), Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam (B), Western Sahara (B), Yemen.

Vagrant to Belgium, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Laos, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands Antilles, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Russia (Central Asian), Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sweden.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 130,000 - 310,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Invertebrates, small birds, mammals and frogs.

Voice
A curlew-like call uttered in flight. Various high-pitched whistling and shrill wader-like calls uttered at night.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (498)...)

Eurasian Stone-curlew (Burhinus) [XC702716]
by Xavier Riera from Devesa de L'Albufera, Valencia, Spain (nocturnal flight call)

Eurasian Stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) [XC673302]
by Rapha\u00ebl Bussi\u00e8re from Pant\u00e0 de Camelis, Segri\u00e0, Catalunya, Spain (call)

Nest
A shallow scrape on the round, in the open, lined with small stones and rabbit droppings.

Eggs (Guide)
2; slightly glossy, buffish, usually rather heavily marked with brown blotches; spherical to oval. Incubation: about 26 days.

Subspecies
Possible subspecies jordansi of Balearic Is and astutus of Afghanistan and Persian Gulf normally included within nominate subspecies and subspecies saharae respectively.

The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

distinctus (Bannerman, 1914) - Western Canary Is.
insularum (Sassi, 1908) - Eastern Canary Is.
saharae (Reichenow, 1894) - Northern Africa, Mediterranean islands, Greece and Turkey to Middle East, east to Iraq and Iran.
oedicnemus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Southern Britain and Iberia east to northern Balkans and Ukraine and Caucasus.
harterti Vaurie, 1963 - R Volga area east through Transcaspia and Turkestan to Zaysan basin, and south through central Iran to Pakistan and extreme north-western India.
indicus (Salvadori, 1865) - India and Sri Lanka east to Indochina. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Indian Thick-knee (Burhinus indicus).

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Eurasian Thick-knee (Burhinus oedicnemus) - 10 files

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