Small pratincole
species of bird
The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (Glareola lactea) is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.
Distribution
The small pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It breeds from December to March on gravel or sand banks near rivers and lakes, laying 2–4 eggs in a ground scrape. Breeding areas include small areas in northern Karnataka (manvi district raichur and along the Hemavathi River) and northern Kerala near Kannur.
This species is only 16.5–18.5 cm (6.5–7.3 in) in length, with a 42–48 cm (17–19 in) wingspan. Because of its small size, the small pratincole can be briefly confused in flight with swifts or swallows.
Description
This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown.
“Small pratincole” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Small, pratincole and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q934460. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Small pratincole” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.