'' Cursorius '' is a genus of

courser The coursers are a subfamily (Cursoriinae) of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed ...

s, 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

pratincole The pratincoles or greywaders are a subfamily (Glareolinae) of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails. Description Their most unusual feature for ...

s, 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

''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 The Somali courser (''Cursorius somalensis'') is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey by ...

(''Cursorius somalensis'') *

Burchell's courser Burchell's courser (''Cursorius rufus'') is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. The name of this bird commemorates the English naturalist William John Burchell. Native to Africa, Burchell's courser is a small, diurnal, ...

(''Cursorius rufus'') *

Temminck's courser Temminck's courser (''Cursorius temminckii'') is a bird in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. It is a wader which lives in sub-Saharan Africa. It is noted for laying its dark ash-black eggs in the burnt bushes and grass of the Afric ...

(''Cursorius temminckii'') *

Indian courser The Indian courser (''Cursorius coromandelicus'') is a species of courser found in mainland South Asia, mainly in the plains bounded by the Ganges and Indus river system. Like other coursers, it is a ground bird that can be found in small groups ...

(''Cursorius coromandelicus'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q570328 Bird genera