Editing Courser

{{Short description|Subfamily of birds}}
{{About|the bird|other uses|Courser (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius cursor) Tal Chhapar, Churu, Rajasthan, India February 15th, 2013.jpg
| image_caption = [[Cream-colored courser]] <br />(''Cursorius cursor'')
| taxon = Cursoriinae
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision =
''[[Cursorius]]''<br>
''[[Rhinoptilus]]''
}}

The '''coursers''' are a subfamily ('''Cursoriinae''') of [[bird]]s which together with the [[pratincole]]s make up the family Glareolidae.  They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as [[wader]]s is that they inhabit deserts and similar arid regions.

They have cryptic plumage and crouch down when alarmed to avoid detection by predators.

Like the pratincoles, the coursers are found in warmer parts of the [[Old World]]. They hunt insects by running.

Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground.

==Species in taxonomic order==

*[[Cream-colored courser]] ''Cursorius cursor''
*[[Somali courser]] ''Cursorius somalensis''
*[[Temminck's courser]] ''Cursorius temminckii ''
*[[Indian courser]] ''Cursorius coromandelicus''
*[[Burchell's courser]] ''Cursorius rufus''
*[[Double-banded courser]] or two-banded courser, ''Rhinoptilus africanus''
*[[Three-banded courser]] or Heuglin's courser,  ''Rhinoptilus cinctus''
*[[Bronze-winged courser]] or violet-tipped courser, ''Rhinoptilus chalcopterus''
*[[Jerdon's courser]]  ''Rhinoptilus bitorquatus''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Hayman, Marchant and Prater, ''Shorebirds'' {{ISBN|0-395-37903-2}}

{{taxonbar|from=Q3007752}}

[[Category:Glareolidae]]


{{Charadriiformes-stub}}