Double-striped thick-knee

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Double-striped thick-knee
Flickr - Rainbirder - Double-striped Thick-Knee (Burhinus bistriatus), crop.jpg

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Burhinidae
Genus: Burhinus
Species:
B. bistriatus
Binomial name
Burhinus bistriatus
(Wagler, 1829)
Burhinus bistriatus map.svg
  range (year-round resident)

The double-striped thick-knee (Burhinus bistriatus) is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. The vernacular name refers to the prominent joints in the long greenish-grey legs, and bistriatus to the two stripes of the head pattern.

Taxonomy[]

The double-striped thick-knee was formally described in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler from a specimen collected in Mexico. He coined the binomial name Charadrius bistriatus.[2] The specific epithet biscutatus combines the Latin bi- meaning "two-" or "double-" with scutatus meaning "armed with a shield" (scutum was an oblong shield).[3] The double-striped thick-knee is now placed in the genus Burhinus that was erected by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811.[4][5]

Four subspecies are recognised:[5]

  • B. b. bistriatus (Wagler, 1829) – south Mexico to northwest Costa Rica
  • B. b. vocifer (L'Herminier, 1837) – Venezuela, Guyana and north Brazil
  • B. b. pediacus Wetmore & Borrero, 1964 – north Colombia
  • B. b. dominicensis (Cory, 1883) – Hispaniola

Description[]

At the Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens

The double-striped thick-knee is a medium-large wader with a strong black and yellow bill, large yellow eyes, which give it a reptilian appearance, and cryptic plumage. The adult is about 46 to 50 cm (18–20 in) long and weighs about 780 to 785 g (27.5–27.7 oz). It has finely streaked grey-brown upperparts, and a paler brown neck and breast merging into the white belly. The head has a strong white supercilium bordered above by a black stripe. Juveniles are similar to adults, but have slightly darker brown upperparts and a whitish nape. The double-striped thick-knee is striking in flight, with a white patch on the dark upperwing, and a white underwing with a black rear edge.

The four subspecies differ in size and plumage tone, but individual variation makes identification of races difficult.

Distribution and habitat[]

It is a resident breeder in Central and South America from southern Mexico south to Colombia, Venezuela and northern Brazil. It also occurs on Hispaniola and some of the Venezuelan islands, and is a very rare vagrant to Trinidad, Curaçao and the USA. It prefers arid grassland, savanna, and other dry, open habitats.

Behaviour[]

This is a largely nocturnal and crepuscular species. It flies only reluctantly, relying on crouching and camouflage for concealment. The double-striped thick-knee eats large insects and other small vertebrate and invertebrate prey. It is sometimes semi-domesticated because of its useful function in controlling insects, and has benefited from the clearing of woodlands to create pasture. The song, given at night, is a loud kee-kee-kee.

Breeding[]

The nest is a bare scrape into which two olive-brown eggs are laid and incubated by both adults for 25–27 days to hatching. The downy young are precocial and soon leave the nest.

References[]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Burhinus bistriatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22693594A163320186. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22693594A163320186.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Wagler, Johann Georg (1829). "Beyträge und Bemerkungen zu dem ersten Bande seines Systema Avium". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). 22. Col 645–664 [648].
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm (1811). Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium (in Latin). Berolini [Berlin]: Sumptibus C. Salfeld. p. 250.
  5. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
  • Stiles, F. Gary; Skutch, Alexander F. (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Comstock Publishing Associates. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4.
  • Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John; Prater, Tony (1991). Shorebirds. Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-0-395-60237-9.

External links[]

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