Cream-colored courser

The cream-colored courser (Cursorius cursor) is a species of wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. Both parts of the scientific name derive from Latin cursor, "runner", from currere, "to run"^[2] which describes their usual habit as they hunt their insect prey on the ground in dry open semi-desert regions of the Middle East and northern Africa.

Cream-colored courser
Adult bird photographed in Egypt
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Glareolidae
Genus:	Cursorius
Species:	C. cursor
Binomial name
Cursorius cursor (Latham, 1787)
Range of C. cursor   Breeding   Resident   Non-breeding   Passage   Probably extinct   Possibly Extant (resident)   Possibly Extant (non-breeding)

Adult bird photographed in Dibba, United Arab Emirates

Eggs collected from Tunisia, in the collection of the Muséum de Toulouse

Range

Cream-colored coursers are found in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, North Africa and Southwest Asia. Their two eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The breeding season extends from February to September,^[3] but they may breed also in autumn and winter when local conditions (especially rainfall) are favourable.^[4] They are partially migratory, with northern and northwestern birds wintering in India, Arabia and across the southern edge of the Sahara. Some birds also breed in the southern desert regions in northwestern India and Pakistan.^[5]

They are rare north of the breeding range, but this species has occurred as far away as Finland, Ireland and Great Britain.^{[citation needed]}

Description

Cream-colored coursers have long legs, long wings, and slightly downcurved bills. The body plumage is sandy in colour, fading to whitish on the lower belly. The upperwing primary feathers and the underwings are black. The crown and nape are grey, and there is a black eyestripe and white supercilium.

In flight, this species resembles a pratincole with its relaxed wingbeats, pointed wings and dark underwings.^{[citation needed]}

Subspecies

There are three subspecies of the cream-colored courser:^[6]

• C. c. cursor, (Latham, 1787): Canary Islands, North Africa Arabian Peninsula to Iraq
• C. c. bogolubovi, (Zarudny, 1885): southeast Turkey to Iran, Afghanistan, South Pakistan to northwest India
• C. c. exsul, (Hartert, 1920): Cape Verde Islands

Taxonomic note

Hayman's Shorebirds treats the east African form littoralis as a race of the Somali courser rather than of cream-colored.^[7] Some authorities in turn consider the Somali, Burchell's and cream-colored coursers to be conspecific.^{[citation needed]}