Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study on this page. Across the range it is mainly insectivorous: beetles, grasshoppers, flies and other flying insects, caught in flight or on the ground. It is not food for people.
Collared pratincole
Glareola pratincola
Dominic Sherony
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 24–28 cm
- Diet
- Flying insects
- Status in Georgia
- Breeding migrant
- Habitat
- Open wetland edge
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Conservation
- Least Concern
The collared pratincole (Glareola pratincola) is a long-winged wader that flies like a swallow and feeds mainly on insects. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia codes it BB; M: a breeder absent in the non-breeding season, and also a bird of passage. Seasonality is classed as high-quality (code A). Occurrence quality is high (H), with photographic evidence. Older Georgian encyclopedic sources treated it only as a passage visitor; that conflict is stated below. It is not a threat to people. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The 2024 checklist assigns the same category nationally. The usual Georgian species name is მდელოს მერცხალა; მერცხალა is also the genus name.
Identification
How to identify Collared pratincole
A swallow-like wader with long pointed wings, a forked tail, and a black throat collar in breeding plumage. Chestnut underwing coverts separate it from black-winged pratincole. Confirmed in Georgia on the 2024 checklist as a breeding migrant.
Length about 24–28 cm at species level; wingspan often given as about 60–70 cm. Mass is often around 60–100 g. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page. The bill is short and curved, with a red base in adults; the legs are short and dark. In flight the silhouette is tern- or swallow-like: long pointed wings and a deeply forked tail.
Breeding adults are brown above and paler below, with a buff throat bordered by a thin black collar (the “collar” of the English name). The belly is whitish. The underwing coverts are chestnut; the flight feathers are dark. A pale trailing edge to the secondaries is often visible. When perched, the outer tail feathers often reach or pass the wing tips — longer than in black-winged pratincole. Non-breeding and juvenile birds lose a clean collar; the throat looks mottled or plain, so underwing colour and tail length matter more.
Black-winged pratincole (Glareola nordmanni) is also confirmed in Georgia on the 2024 checklist, but only as a migrant (M), coded NT globally and nationally. Its underwing coverts are black, not chestnut; the tail is shorter relative to the wing tips; the upperparts are often darker. Good light or a photograph of the underwing is needed. Oriental pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) is not on the 2024 Georgian confirmed list used here. True swallows and martins lack the wader bill and ground-running habit. This atlas does not yet have a separate black-winged pratincole page.
It is not a threat to people. A long-winged brown bird hawking insects over open wet ground in Georgia in the warm season may be this species or black-winged pratincole — check underwing colour.
This page does not colour a municipality-by-municipality map. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level breeding-migrant status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. Do not assume it occurs evenly across Georgia. Species- level habitat is open country near water: short grassland, mudflats, gravel, salt flats, and wetland edges where insects are abundant. Birds often hawk insects in the air, sometimes with terns and swallows, and also take prey on the ground. Nesting is typically a shallow scrape on bare or sparsely vegetated open ground, often near water, sometimes in loose colonies. A separate national elevation band for Georgia is not published here. Nearby breeding colonies are well known at Armash fishponds in Armenia; that is not a Georgian locality.Read moreShow less
This page does not colour a municipality-by-municipality map. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level breeding-migrant status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. Do not assume it occurs evenly across Georgia. Species- level habitat is open country near water: short grassland, mudflats, gravel, salt flats, and wetland edges where insects are abundant. Birds often hawk insects in the air, sometimes with terns and swallows, and also take prey on the ground. Nesting is typically a shallow scrape on bare or sparsely vegetated open ground, often near water, sometimes in loose colonies. A separate national elevation band for Georgia is not published here. Nearby breeding colonies are well known at Armash fishponds in Armenia; that is not a Georgian locality.
5 photos · 4 photographersView all photos
Piotr Matyga · Arabat Spit
Dominic Sherony
Bernard Dupont · iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Dominic Sherony
Ferran Pestaña · Viladecans
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Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Collared pratincole.
Yes. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia lists it as a confirmed breeding bird and migrant (BB; M). Older Georgian sources treated it only as a passage visitor.
In the breeding and migration seasons on open ground near water — short grassland, mudflats, and wetland edges. The 2024 checklist does not publish a regional gazetteer, so this page does not colour regions. Do not assume it is statewide.
Swallow-like flight, forked tail, short bill, and a black throat collar in breeding plumage. Chestnut underwing coverts; black-winged pratincole has black underwings.
About 24–28 cm long at species level, with a wingspan often given as about 60–70 cm. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page.
Mainly insects, caught in flight or on the ground. Diet has not been studied separately in Georgia on this page.
As a breeding migrant: present in the breeding season and on passage, absent in winter, according to the 2024 checklist. Exact dates for Georgia are not tabulated here.
The 2024 checklist codes it BB (breeding bird). Older Georgian sources said passage only. Named nest sites inside Georgia are not listed on this page.
It is harmless. It is globally Least Concern and coded LC nationally on the 2024 checklist. It is an AEWA species. Do not disturb nests on open ground.
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.
