Glareola lactea
Silhouette: Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Pratincole sighting in Yala National Park on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 152nd most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Small Pratincole in Yala National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November–January, the lowest months. That is one of Yala National Park's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain against 340 mm in November.
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.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Small Pratincole sightings, Yala National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 10%) and Satpura National Park (India, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Pratincole is recorded against all the birds logged in Yala National Park (40 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.
