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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Glareolidae
  4. ›
  5. Glareola
  6. ›
  7. Oriental Pratincole
Oriental Pratincole
Photo · (c) Robert Webster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

BirdUp · Species

Oriental Pratincole

Glareola maldivarumForster, JR, 1795

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Glareolidae
Genus
Glareola

At a glance

The Oriental Pratincole is a medium-sized bird, about 23–24 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
23–24 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does an Oriental Pratincole look like?

The Oriental Pratincole is a medium-sized bird, about 23–24 cm long and weighing 59–95 g.

The oriental pratincole, also known as the grasshopper-bird or swallow-plover, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
23–24 cm
Weight
59–95 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see an Oriental Pratincole?

The Oriental Pratincole is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does an Oriental Pratincole eat?

The Oriental Pratincole feeds on terrestrial invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks.

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Oriental Pratincole live in Australia?

The Oriental Pratincole is native to Australia, recorded across 46 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingPAL, OR : patchily in temperate to tropical grassland near water of south to north-east Asia: west India and Sri Lanka, south-east Asia to Malay Pen., east and north-east China, Philippines, Taiwan, east Siberia and south and central Japan

Non-breedingOR, AU : grassy fields of Chagos Arch. and Maldives (west-central Indian Ocean), Indian Pen. through Indonesian Arch., Cocos (Keeling), Christmas I. and Ashmore Reef (south-east Indian Ocean), north WA and north NT (north and north-central Australia), Mariana Is. to Palau, Truk, Yap and Marshall Is. (west Micronesia)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding

6 regions recorded