Temminck's Courser - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by kamst139
Gunjur, The Gambia, February 2017

Cursorius temminckii

Identification

Subspecies C. t. ruvanensis
Photo © by GarethH
Kgomo Kgomo, Limpopo Province, South Africa, 12 March 2006

19–21 cm (7½-8¼ in)

• Light brown chest and upperparts
• Rufous crown
• White supercilium
• Black line through the eye

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa to northern South Africa.

Taxonomy

Displaying
Photo © by Steve G
Masai Mara, Kenya, July 2010

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized^[1].

• C. t. temminckii - southern Mauritania and Senegal east to Chad, also discontinuously in southern South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya
• C. t. ruvanensis - southern and eastern Gabon east to Tanzania, south to Angola, Mozambique, and northeastern South Africa
• C. t. aridus - northern Namibia and Botswana to western Zimbabwe

Habitat

Short grassland, agricultural fields and open country, moist savanna and scrub.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of insects, termites and molluscs. With the addition of seeds on occasion. Their typical foraging action is 'run and stop'.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Temminck's Courser. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Temminck%27s_Courser

External Links

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