Stone-curlew

The stone-curlews, also known as dikkops or thick-knees, consist of 10 species within the family Burhinidae, and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Despite the group being classified as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semiarid habitats.

Taxonomy

The family Burhinidae was introduced in 1912 for the stone-curlews by Australian ornithologist Gregory Mathews.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The family contains three genera: Hesperoburhinus, Burhinus and Esacus.<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The name Burhinus combines the Ancient Greek bous meaning "ox" and rhis, rhinos meaning "nose" (or "bill").<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the family Burhinidae is sister to a clade containing the sheathbills in the family Chionidae and the Magellanic plover in its own family Pluvianellidae. The stone-curlews are not closely related to the curlews, genus Numenius, that belong to the sandpiper family Scolopacidae.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Description

They are medium to large birds with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes—which give them a reptilian appearance—and cryptic plumage. The names thick-knee and stone-curlew are both in common use. The term stone-curlew owes its origin to the broad similarities with true curlews. Thick-knee refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs and apparently originated with a name coined in 1776 for B. oedicnemus, the Eurasian stone-curlew. Obviously the heel (ankle) and the knee are confused here.<ref name="Kochan94">Template:Cite book</ref>

Behaviour

They are largely nocturnal, particularly when singing their loud, wailing songs, which are reminiscent of true curlews.<ref name=EoB>Template:Cite book</ref> Their diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. Larger species also take lizards and even small mammals.<ref name=EoB/> Most species are sedentary, but the Eurasian stone-curlew is a summer migrant in the temperate European part of its range, wintering in Africa.

Species

The earliest definitive stone-curlew is Genucrassum bransatensis from the Late Oligocene of France.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Wilaru, described from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene of Australia, was originally classified as a stone-curlew, but was subsequently argued to be a member of the extinct anseriform family Presbyornithidae, instead.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The living species are:

Picture	Name	Binomial name
File:Double-striped Thick-knee.jpg	Double-striped thick-knee	Hesperoburhinus bistriatus
File:Peruvian Thick-knee (Burhinus superciliaris), crop.jpg	Peruvian thick-knee	Hesperoburhinus superciliaris
File:Eurasian Thicknee - Along Po river - Italy FJ0A1202 (28252446508), crop.jpg	Eurasian stone-curlew	Burhinus oedicnemus
File:Indian Thick-knee Burhinus indicus by Dr. Raju Kasambe DSCN9380 (14).jpg	Indian stone-curlew	Burhinus indicus
File:Senegal Thick-knee - Gambia (32528240471), crop.jpg	Senegal thick-knee	Burhinus senegalensis
File:Waterdikkop-crop2.jpg	Water thick-knee	Burhinus vermiculatus
File:Kaptriel - Spotted dikkop - Burhinus capensis.jpg	Spotted thick-knee	Burhinus capensis
File:Bush Stone-curlew.jpg	Bush stone-curlew	Burhinus grallarius (formerly B. magnirostris).
File:Thimindu 2009 09 27 Yala Great Stone Curlew 2.JPG	Great stone-curlew	Esacus recurvirostris
File:Beach Thick-knee Inskip Pt2.JPG	Beach stone-curlew	Esacus magnirostris

External links

• Thick-knees videos on the Internet Bird Collection