Australian Pratincole

The Australian Pratincole (Stiltia isabella) is a species of bird in the Glareolidae family, found in Australia, Christmas Island, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. It is a medium sized nomadic shorebird which is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60 000. They are a migratory species that generally move to the southern parts of their distribution range to breed during spring and summer. During winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter . Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location.