Black-winged pratincole
Glareola nordmanni
Vyacheslav Luzanov · Apanasenkovskiy rayon
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 24–28 cm
- Diet
- Insects: locusts, beetles, wasps, ants
- Status in Georgia
- Migrant
- Recorded regions
- Shida Kartli; Adjara; Mtskheta-Mtianeti
- Habitat
- Steppe, fields, salt flats, waterside
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Conservation
- Global NT (2021); Georgia NT (2024)
The black-winged pratincole is a wader, but it hunts like a swallow: it catches insects on the wing, though it can also feed on the ground. It is 24–28 cm long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail. The back and head are brown, the belly white and the underwings black, which gives it its name. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a migrant. It breeds on the steppes of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, winters in southern Africa and passes through Georgia on the way. Records from Georgia are few: 13 by November 2026, 2 in May and 11 in September, most of them from Shida Kartli. A flock of up to 3,400 birds has also been recorded in the Chorokhi Delta. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Near Threatened (NT), and its numbers are probably falling.
Identification
Black-winged pratincole: how to identify it
From a distance it looks like a swallow: long, pointed wings, a forked tail and a short bill. It is brown above, with a white belly. The key mark is the black underwing, but to tell it from the collared pratincole you need a good view.
The underwing is entirely black, and there is no white trailing edge to the wing. These two marks are diagnostic. The collared pratincole has a chestnut underwing, but in poor light it also looks black, so try to see or photograph the wing in good light while the bird is flying.
It is 24–28 cm long. It is slightly larger than the collared pratincole, with a shorter tail and longer legs, though the legs are still short. The bill is short, an adaptation to feeding in the air.
The back and head are brown, the wings brown with black flight feathers, and the belly white. When hunting insects it is often seen near water, especially in the evening. On migration and in winter it travels in flocks, often with collared pratincoles, so you may find both species in the same flock.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It is a bird of open, flat country. It breeds on grazed short-grass steppe, fallow and ploughed fields, alkaline and salt flats, sandspits, and in lake basins and river valleys. Large colonies are always near water, by damp meadows or marshes. In winter it lives in seasonally wet grasslands, savannas, on sandbanks along large rivers and at the edges of salt pans. It occurs from sea level up to 1590 m. In Georgia most records come from Shida Kartli: 8 observations from September 2024. On the coast of Adjara it was seen in September in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and a flock of up to 3,400 birds has been recorded in the Chorokhi Delta. There are 2 records from Mtskheta-Mtianeti, from May 2024. Because the species is Near Threatened, the exact locations of the observations are hidden, so the region is sometimes approximate.
It eats insects caught in the air or on the ground, especially swarming ones. It takes locusts and other orthopterans, beetles, wasps, bees, dragonflies, ants, termites, flies and cockroaches. It gathers quickly when insects emerge in large numbers after storms.
It is strongly migratory. It breeds in colonies of 5 to more than 500 pairs, sometimes thousands, from May to July. The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground, about 10 cm across, lined with bits of nearby plants. It lays 2–4 eggs. Losses of eggs and chicks vary greatly from year to year and can reach 60–100%: on the Caspian steppe predators destroyed more than 90% of nests. After breeding, in July and August, the birds gather to moult, then migrate quickly and high over land. They leave between August and early October and arrive in southern Africa, mainly Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia, in October and November. In winter they are always on the move, in flocks of 10–100 birds, sometimes thousands. They roost at night in loose groups. The return journey begins in March, and they reach the breeding grounds from late April through May. In Georgia the observations match these two migrations: May and September.
Globally the black-winged pratincole is rated Near Threatened (NT, 2021). The number of mature birds is estimated at 150,000–190,000 (2021), and the population is probably declining, by 1–19% over 2015–2025. The European population fell by more than 50% between 1990 and 2000. The causes are not fully understood. On the breeding grounds the harm comes from ploughing of steppe, less grazing, field work, nests trampled by livestock, and crows, foxes and hedgehogs. On the wintering grounds the threats are degraded grassland and locust control, which takes away food and poisons with pesticides. Hunting is probably also a threat. One study projects that climate change will shrink the wintering range by 49% by 2050. The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies to the species. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it Near Threatened (NT) in Georgia.
Related guides
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Yes, but only on migration. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a migrant. The records are from May and September, when it flies between southern Africa and its breeding grounds. It breeds in neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Most records come from Shida Kartli, in September. It is also seen on the coast of Adjara in September, and a flock of up to 3,400 birds has been recorded in the Chorokhi Delta. In May it was seen in Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Look for it in open, flat places near water.
By the underwing. The black-winged pratincole's underwing is entirely black, with no white trailing edge to the wing. The collared pratincole's underwing is chestnut, though it looks black in poor light. The black-winged pratincole also has a shorter tail and longer legs. To be sure, photograph it in flight.
It hunts like a swallow, catching insects on the wing. Like a swallow, it has long, pointed wings and a forked tail. In fact it is a wader, from the order Charadriiformes, and not related to swallows. It also nests on the ground.
Insects caught in the air or on the ground: locusts, beetles, wasps, bees, dragonflies, ants, termites and flies. It especially likes swarming insects. It gathers quickly when insects emerge in large numbers after storms.
It is harmless to people. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Near Threatened (NT), and its numbers are probably falling. It is harmed by ploughing of steppe, less grazing, pesticides used against locusts on the wintering grounds, and hunting. The AEWA agreement applies to the species.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
