View source for Stone-curlew

{{Automatic Taxobox
| name = Stone-curlews
| fossil_range = [[Late Oligocene]] to present
| image = Bush Stone-Curlew.png
| image_caption = [[Bush Stone-Curlew]], ''Burhinus grallarius''
| taxon = Burhinidae
| authority = [[Gregory Mathews|Mathews]], 1912
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 
* †''[[Wilaru]]''?
* ''[["Burhinus"]]''
* ''[[Burhinus]]''
* ''[[Esacus]]''
* ''[[Oedicnemus]]''
}}

The '''stone-curlews''', also known as '''dikkops''' or '''thick-knees''', consist of ten species within the family '''Burhinidae''', and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia and Australia. Despite the group being classified as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.

==Taxonomy==
The family Burhinidae was introduced in 1912 for the stone-curlews by the Australian ornithologist [[Gregory Mathews]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Mathews | first=Gregory | author-link=Gregory Mathews | year=1912 | journal=Novitates Zoologicae | title=A reference-list to the birds of Australia | volume=18 | issue=3 | pages=171-455 [225] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3109569 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= Number 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | pages=112-113, 137, 247 | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}<!--Linked page allows download of the 48MB pdf--></ref> The family contains two genera: ''[[Burhinus]]'' and ''[[Esacus]]''.<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2021 | title=Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/buttonquail/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=29 May 2021 }}</ref> The name ''Burhinus'' combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ''bous'' meaning "ox" and ''rhis'', ''rhinos'' meaning "nose" (or "bill").<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=81 }}</ref>

[[Molecular phylogenetic]] studies have shown that the family Burhinidae is [[sister taxon|sister]] to a [[clade]] containing the sheathbills in the family [[Chionidae]] and the [[Magellanic Plover]] in its own family [[Scolopacidae]]. The stone-curlews are not closely related to the [[curlews]], genus ''[[curlew|Numenius]]'', that belong to the sandpiper family [[Scolopacidae]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Kuhl | first1=H. | last2=Frankl-Vilches | first2=C. | last3=Bakker | first3=A. | last4=Mayr | first4=G. | last5=Nikolaus | first5=G. | last6=Boerno | first6=S.T. | last7=Klages | first7=S. | last8=Timmermann | first8=B. | last9=Gahr | first9=M. | date=2020 | title=An unbiased molecular approach using 3′-UTRs resolves the avian family-level tree of life | journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution | issue=msaa191 | doi=10.1093/molbev/msaa191 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Description==
They are medium to large birds with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes&mdash;which give them a reptilian appearance&mdash;and cryptic plumage. The names ''thick-knee'' and ''stone-curlew'' are both in common use. The term ''stone-curlew'' owes its origin to the broad similarities with true [[curlew]]s. ''Thick-knee'' refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs and apparently originated with a name coined in 1776 for ''B. oedicnemus'', the [[Eurasian stone-curlew]].
Obviously the [[heel]] ([[ankle]]) and the [[knee]] are confused here.<ref name="Kochan94">{{cite book |last=Kochan |first=Jack B. |series=Birds |title=Feet & Legs |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=Mechanicsburg |year=1994 |isbn=0-8117-2515-4 }}</ref>

==Species==
A fossil genus ''[[Wilaru]]'', described from the [[Chattian|Late Oligocene]] to the [[Early Miocene]] of Australia, was originally classified as a stone-curlew; however, it was subsequently argued to be a member of the extinct [[Anseriformes|anseriform]] family [[Presbyornithidae]] instead.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Vanesa L. De Pietri, R. Paul Scofield, Nikita Zelenkov, Walter E. Boles and Trevor H. Worthy |year=2016 |title=The unexpected survival of an ancient lineage of anseriform birds into the Neogene of Australia: the youngest record of Presbyornithidae |journal=Royal Society Open Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=150635 |doi=10.1098/rsos.150635 }}</ref> The ten living species are:

===''[[Oedicnemus]]''===
* [[Eurasian Stone-Curlew]], ''Oedicnemus oedicnemus''
* [[Indian Stone-Curlew]], ''Oedicnemus indicus''
* [[Senegal Thick-knee]], ''Oedicnemus senegalensis''
* [[Water Thick-knee]], ''Oedicnemus vermiculatus''
* [[Spotted Thick-knee]], ''Oedicnemus capensis''
===''[["Burhinus"]]''===
* [[Double-striped Thick-knee]],  ''"Burhinus" bistriatus''
* [[Peruvian Thick-knee]],  ''"Burhinus" superciliaris''
===''[[Burhinus]]''===
* [[Bush Stone-Curlew]],  ''Burhinus grallarius'' (formerly ''B. magnirostris'', the bush thick-knee).
===''[[Esacus]]''===
* [[Great Stone-Curlew]],  ''Esacus recurvirostris''
* [[Beach Stone-Curlew]], ''Esacus neglectus''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=58 Thick-knees videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

{{Taxonbar|from=Q145854}}

{{Project Bird Families}}
{{Project Bird Taxonomy}}

{{Wikipedia|Stone-curlew}}
[[Category:Charadriiformes|*{{PN}}]]
[[Category:Chionidi|*{{PN}}]]
[[Category:Burhinidae| ]]
[[Category:Families of Charadriiformes]]
[[Category:Extant Cenozoic first appearances]]