Double Take

Double-banded Coursers

- ANDREW DE BLOCQ

Coursers are fairly enigmatic within the order Charadrii-formes, which broadly comprises the waders, gulls and auks. Like the Plains Wanderer of Australia, they have abandoned the aquatic habitats typical of their relatives and are now semi-arid or arid-zone specialists. In particular, the Double-banded Courser Rhinoptilus africanus and Burchell’s Courser Cursorius rufus are synonymous with southern Africa’s arid Karoo and Kalahari regions.

These desert dwellers have a range of physiological and behavioural adaptations that enables them to thrive in such harsh areas, especially in relation to the lack of water. Coursers extrude salt from special glands near the nostrils in order to conserve water and they obtain all their moisture via their food. Not actively drinking makes them independent of water sources in the environment. Their long legs separate them from the hottest layer of air near the ground. Behaviourally, coursers may avoid the heat by hiding under bushes. They are fascinating birds and it is surprising that they are not better studied.