'' Cursorius '' is a genus of
coursers, a group of
wading bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s. The genus name derive from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''cursor'' meaning "runner".
There are five species which breed in Africa and South Asia.
They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Although classed as
wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s, they inhabit deserts and similar arid regions.
Like the
pratincoles, the coursers are found in warmer parts of the
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
. They hunt insects by sight, pursuing them on foot.
Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Cursorius'' was introduced in 1790 by the English ornithologist
John Latham. The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
was subsequently designated as the
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" which describes their ...
. The genus name is derive from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''cursor'' meaning "runner", from ''currere'', "to run".
The genus contains five species:
*
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" which describes their ...
(''Cursorius cursor'')
*
Somali courser (''Cursorius somalensis'')
*
Burchell's courser (''Cursorius rufus'')
*
Temminck's courser (''Cursorius temminckii'')
*
Indian courser (''Cursorius coromandelicus'')
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q570328
Bird genera