Avise's Birds of the World

Bush Stone-curlew
Burhinus grallarius

Native Range: Australian Region

Notes: stone-curlews are also known as thicknees, the latter name coming from their prominent leg joints; all of the approximately one dozen species are cryptically colored with brown streaks that help them to blend into their favored open grassland habitats; crepuscular, meaning that they are most active at dusk and dawn; stone-curlews forage by walking deliberately and slowly before dashing to catch small prey such as insects and lizards; the nest is merely a shallow scrape in the ground, which typically contains two eggs alternately tended by both parents; usually silent by day but issues loud wailing cries and whistles at night.