THE PRATINCOLE. 501 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — Rare vagrant. About twenty- 

 three England, two Wales, one Scotland. Chiefly Oct. to Dec, but 

 one Sept., and a pair Feb., Kent, and a pair May, Sussex. Has 

 been recorded Northumberland, Yorks., Lines., Norfolk, Suffolk, 

 Kent, Middlesex, Hants., Wilts., Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, 

 Leicester, Cumberland, Cardigan, " North Wales " and Lanark. 

 Distribution. — Abroad. — Deserts of north Africa, occasionally 

 met with in south Europe, and as far north as Heligoland, Germany, 

 Hungary, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Belgium, and France. 

 Exact eastern limit uncertain. Replaced by allied races in Trans - 

 caspia and Persia, Cape Verde and Canary Islands, and north- 

 eastern Africa. 



Genus GL AREOLA Briss. 



GtLAreola Brisson, Orn., i, p. 48 (1760 — Type according to v, p. 141, 

 " Glareola" =Hirundo pratincola L.). 



Bill much shorter than head, culmen curved. Nostrils just in 

 front of feathering. Wings very long and pointed, tip of secondaries 

 far behind tip of primaries, 1st developed primary longest. Tail 

 longer than in Cursor ins, more or less forked. Legs short, in front 

 and behind scutellated. Middle toe longest, inner side of claw 

 pectinated. Hind toe well developed. About 9 species admitted, 

 2 in south Europe. 



GLAREOLA PRATINCOLA 



368. Glareola pratincola pratincola (L.)— THE PRATINCOLE. 



Hiiiundo Pratestcola Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xn, i, p. 345 (1766 — 



S. Europe and Austria). 



Glareola 'pratincola (Linnaeus), Yarrell, in, p. 231 ; Saunders, p. 531. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Upper-parts (except tail- 

 coverts) and sides of neck olive-brown ; feathers of crown, nape 

 and sides of neck tipped and edged tawny ; upper tail-coverts white ; 

 an indistinct warm buff line extends from front of eye almost to 

 opening of nares ; lores warm buff ; a small black patch in front of 

 eye, passing beneath eye and continuous with a semi-circle of 

 pronounced sepia or black-brown streaks encircling throat ; fore- 

 part of cheeks, chin and throat light or warm buff, feathers more 

 or less spotted or streaked sepia or black-brown ; breast fawn 

 faintly tinged buff, feathers narrowly edged tawny ; lower -breast 

 buff ; flanks, belly, vent and under tail-coverts white ; axillaries 

 bay ; under wing-coverts bay and black (amount of bay varies 

 individually) ; tail-feathers olive-brown shaded black, all except 

 central pair with deep white bases (sometimes central pair white 

 towards base) increasing in extent on outer pairs ; primaries and 

 their coverts black or black-brown, paler on inner webs, with a dull 

 violet -purple sheen, inner webs of inner ones pale olive -brown, 2nd 

 with a white shaft, remainder with brown shafts ; secondaries deep 



