Indian Courser - Behaviour and Ecology

Behaviour and Ecology

These birds are usually seen in small flocks. They are usually found where the grass is not taller than them, since the tall grass blocks their view. They feed on insects mainly beetles, crickets and grasshoppers picked up from the ground in stubbly or uncultivated fields. They run in spurts on the ground but take to flight with a hoarse creaky gwaat call. The flight is strong with rapid wing beats. They fly low and begin to run after landing.

They breed mainly from March to August. Records exist from mid May in southern India and Sri Lanka and mid April in Darbhanga. A breeding record in Deccan from December is known.journal|title=Breeding by the Indian courser Cursorius coromandelicus in winter in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India| author=Bharos, A. M. K. Sahu, M.| journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume = 99|year=2002|issue=2|pages=299–300}} They nest in a scrape on bare stony ground laying 2 or 3 speckled and well-camouflaged eggs that are very spherical. The chicks are protectively coloured and on alarm crouch and remain immobile making them extremely difficult to spot. Adults do not call or display when the nest or chicks are approached. The chicks are able to move upon hatching but are initially fed by the parents and begin to forage on their own after a week.