Glareola lactea
Silhouette: Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (Glareola lactea) is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. The small pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It breeds from December to March on gravel or sand banks near rivers and lakes, laying 2–4 eggs in a ground scrape. Breeding areas include small areas in northern Karnataka (manvi district raichur and along the Hemavathi River) and northern Kerala near Kannur.
This species is only 16.5–18.5 cm (6.5–7.3 in) in length, with a 42–48 cm (17–19 in) wingspan. Because of its small size, the small pratincole can be briefly confused in flight with swifts or swallows. This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence lactea, milky). The crown of the head is brown.
The wings are grey above with black primaries and black and white bars at the rear edge of the inner flight feathers. The underwings are mainly black. The tail is white with a black terminal triangle. The belly is white... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 2 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | |
| 2 | Agra | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bhopal | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Pratincole sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 203 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 119th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and May–June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Small Pratincole in Chitwan National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April and July–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Pratincole sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Small Pratincole sightings, Chitwan National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Satpura National Park (India, about 10%) and Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, under 5%).
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Small Pratincole that you can see in Chitwan National Park (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Red-wattled Lapwing (about 60%), River Lapwing (about 50%) and Green Sandpiper (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Pratincole is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (203 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
