Double-banded Courser - BirdForum Opus

Photo by jdbirdman
Namibia, October 2004

Alternative name: Two-banded Courser

Rhinoptilus africanus

Smutsornis africanus Cursorius africanus

Identification

Cryptic upland shorebird. Adults have a scaly back and two bands across the breast. Juveniles lack the chest bands Three-banded Courser is larger, more nocturnal and has a more complex head and chest pattern.

Distribution

Arid country of eastern and southern Africa
Western Africa: occurs only in Angola
Eastern Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Lesotho

Taxonomy

Smutsornis vs. Rhinoptilus

Some authorities (Clements, 2007) place Double-banded Courser in the monotypic genus Smutsornis. However Howard & Moore (2003) and Sibley & Monroe (1996) place it within the genus Rhinoptilus and the Opus awaits clarification.

Subspecies traylori, displaying
Photo by Vernon Lundy
Etosha, Namibia, February 2000

Subspecies

There are 8 subspecies¹:

• R. a. raffertyi:

• Eritrea to Ethiopia and Djibouti

• R. a. hartingi:

• South-eastern Ethiopia (Ogaden Depression) and Somalia

• R. a. gracilis:

• Kenya and Tanzania

• R. a. bisignatus:

• South-western Angola

• R. a. erlangeri:

• Northwestern Namibia (Etosha region)

• R. a. traylori:

• Northwestern Botswana (Makgadikgadi system) and western Zimbabwe

• R. a. africanus:

• Namibia (except northwest), western and southern Botswana, and northwestern South Africa (northern Northern Cape)

• R. a. granti:

• Western Cape Province and Karoo of South Africa

Habitat

This is a bird of dry and alkaline flats as well as short grass plains normally up to 1800m.

Behaviour

Although it is active by day it may be nocturnal where temperatures are very high. It is generally seen in pairs.

Breeding

It nests on the ground among pebbles or animal droppings, laying a single egg.

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. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Double-banded Courser. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Double-banded_Courser

External Links

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