Great Thick-knee
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| Great Thick-knee Conservation status: Lower risk (lc) | ||||||||||||||
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| Esacus recurvirostris (Cuvier, 1829) |
The Great Thick-knee (Esacus recurvirostris) is a very large wader which is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka into South-east Asia.
This is a species of gravel banks along rivers or near lakes, and also beaches. A single egg is laid in a bare scrape on the open shingle.
It is mainly nocturnal or crepuscular like other stone-curlews, but can frequently be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing powerful, rather stiff wingbeats.
The Great Thick-knee is a very large wader at 49-55cm, and has a massive 7cm upturned bill. It has unstreaked grey-brown upperparts and breast, with rest of the underparts whitish. The face has a striking black and white pattern, and the bill is black with a yellow base. The eyes are bright yellow and the legs a duller greenish-yellow.
In flight, the Great Thick-knee shows black and white flight feathers on the upperwing, and a mainly white underwing. Sexes are similar, but young birds are slightly paler than adults.
The call is a wailing whistle, given mainly at night, as with other birds in this family. The Great Thick-knee eats crabs, large insects, and other animal prey.
Reference
- Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-873403-19-4