Plovers & Lapwings are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills. Pratincoles are a genus of birds, Glareola, that comprise the subfamily Glareolinae, which together with the Coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings, and in several, long forked tails.
Plovers hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like Snipe do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. Plovers engage in false brooding, a type of distraction display. Examples include pretending to be injured or change position to sit on an imaginary nest site.
