Peruvian thick-knee | |
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at Santa Cruz de Flores, Lima, Peru | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Burhinidae |
Genus: | Hesperoburhinus |
Species: | H. superciliaris |
Binomial name | |
Hesperoburhinus superciliaris (Tschudi, 1843) | |
range (year-round resident) |
The Peruvian thick-knee (Hesperoburhinus superciliaris) is a species of bird in the family Burhinidae. It is found in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and pastureland. It is a ground-dwelling bird and feeds on insects and small animals.
The Peruvian thick-knee was formally described in 1843 by the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi from a specimen collected in the coastal region of Peru. He coined the binomial name Oedicnenus superciliaris (the genus name is a typographic error for Oedicnemus). [2] The specific epithet is Modern Latin meaning "eyebrowed" (supercillium is the Latin word for "eyebrow"). [3] The Peruvian thick-knee is now placed in the genus Burhinus that was erected in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. [4] [5] In IOC 14.1, the Peruvian thick-knee was transferred to the newly described genus Hesperoburhinus . [6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [5]
This medium-sized bird has brownish-grey plumage with brown streaks and spots. The underparts are white and the legs are yellow and long. There is a white streak through the eye with a black upper border. The short beak has a black tip. The length is about 40 cm (16 in). [7]
The Peruvian thick-knee is found in South America in the coastal strip between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. Its range extends from northern Chile, through Peru to southern Ecuador. Its typical habitat is semi-desert areas, agricultural land, dry pasture or well-vegetated river valleys. It particularly favours open crops such as alfalfa or corn. [7] [8]
The Peruvian thick-knee is most active at night. The diet is not known but the bird moves about on the ground foraging, probably feeding on insects, small lizards and other small animals. [9] It runs across the ground in a manner similar to an ostrich. [7] It roosts in the open during the day, remaining motionless and difficult to spot as it is well-camouflaged by its brownish plumage. Its presence in an area may be most easily detected by its distinctive three-toed footprints in soft sand, and at night by its calls which are somewhat reminiscent of a lapwing (Vanellus sp.). [8]
Little is known of the reproduction of this species [9] but a nest containing two eggs has been observed in June on the Cerros de Naupe, a range of low mountains in Peru. The nesting site was on a dry, sparsely-vegetated slope with clumps of shrubs and cacti. The nest was a scrape in the ground with the area around it cleared of debris. The eggs were cream-coloured with blotches of tan and darker brown and measured approximately 53 by 39 millimetres (2.1 in × 1.5 in). One parent was incubating the eggs while the other stood in the shade a few metres away. [10]
The IUCN has listed the Peruvian thick-knee as being of "Vulnerable". This is because there has been a decline in its restricted range. . [1] [9]
The four species of avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin recurvus, 'curved backwards' and rostrum, 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian (Ferrarese) word avosetta. Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians".
The lesser yellowlegs is a medium-sized shorebird. It breeds in the boreal forest region of North America.
The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly at night in search of invertebrates such as insects. Its grey-brown coloration is distinguished by dark streaks, its eyes are large and legs are long. It is capable of flight, but relies on the camouflage of its plumage to evade detection during the day; the bush curlew adopts a rigid posture when it becomes aware of an observer. Both sexes care for two eggs laid on the bare ground, usually sited near bush in a shaded position or next to a fallen branch.
The Eurasian stone-curlew, Eurasian thick-knee, or simply stone-curlew is a northern species of the Burhinidae (stone-curlew) bird family.
The greater sand plover is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is often given as "greater sandplover" or "greater sand-plover", but the official IOC and British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "Greater Sand Plover". The specific leschenaultii commemorates the French botanist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour. Like most other species in the genus Anarhynchus, it was until recently included in the genus Charadrius.
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The rufous-browed peppershrike is a passerine bird in the vireo family. It is widespread and often common in woodland, forest edge, and cultivation with some tall trees from Mexico and Trinidad south to Argentina and Uruguay.
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The spotted thick-knee, also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Burhinidae. It is native to tropical regions of central and southern Africa.
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The yellow-throated scrubwren is a passerine in the family Acanthizidae that is found in parts of eastern coastal Australia. It was formerly placed in the genus Sericornis, but is now the only species in the genus Neosericornis.
The slender-billed prion or thin-billed prion, is a species of petrel, a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found in the southern oceans.
The southern chestnut-breasted wren is a species of passerine bird in the wren family Troglodytidae that is found in southern Peru and the extreme northwest of Bolivia. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the northern chestnut-breasted wren with the English name "chestnut-breasted wren".
The superciliated wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Burhinus is a genus of birds in the family Burhinidae. This family also contains the genus Esacus. The genus name Burhinus comes from the Greek bous, ox, and rhis, nose.
The Indian stone-curlew or Indian thick-knee is a species of bird in the family Burhinidae. It was formerly included as a subspecies of the Eurasian stone-curlew. This species is found in the plains of South and South-eastern Asia. They have large eyes and are brown with streaks and pale marks making it hard to spot against the background of soils and rocks. Mostly active in the dark, they produce calls similar to the true curlews, giving them their names.
Hesperoburhinus is a genus of birds in the stone-curlew family Burhinidae. The genus is distributed in Middle and South America. It contains two species, the double-striped thick-knee and the Peruvian thick-knee.