Charadriiformes - Shorebirds
There are about 350 species of birds in this order. They are found in all parts of the world. The birds in this order live near or on the water and they range in size from small to large! There are 16 familes in the order.
Family: Alcidae - auks, puffins, murres |
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The Alcidae family includes the auks, puffins and murres. The birds in this family look a lot like penguins! They are black and white and stand upright. They are very good swimmers and divers, but unlike penguins, auks can fly! They have short wings and webbed feet. They live on the open ocean except during the breeding season. Species in this family are found in the Northern Hemisphire in areas with cold water. |
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Family: Burhinidae - thick-knees, stone curlews |
This family of birds are medium to large-sized wading birds. They are usually found in dry, tropical habitats in
Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. They have longs legs with large knee joints. Species include the stone curlew, the Eurasian thick-knee, the great thick-knee, the Australian stone curlew,
the
Senegal thick-knee
and the water dikkop.
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Family: Charadriidae - lapwings, plovers, dotterels |
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The birds in this family are small to medium-sized and includes the plovers, the lapwings and the dotterels. They have long, pointed wings; plump bodies;round heads and short necks. They are found around the world, usually near water. The eat insects and other invertebrates. They locate their food by sight and chase after it, running and stopping to eat then running again. There are 66 species in this family. |
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Family: Chionididae - sheathbills |
 Sheathbills live in the Antarctic near the shore. There are two species in this family:
greater or snowy sheathbill
and the
black-billed sheathbill. They are entirely white, have short wings and have a horny sheath that covers the upper part of their bills. They scavenge for food and eat carrion and penguin eggs.
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Family: Dromadidae - crab-plover |
The only species in this family is the crab plover. The crab plover lives in the mudflats of the Indian Ocean. It is white with a black back, flight feathers and bill. It has long gray legs and a long, pointed black bill. It eats crabs and other
crustaceans
and nests in burrows that it digs in the ground.
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Family: Glareolidae - coursers, pratincoles |
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There are 17 species of birds in this family. They are found in warm places in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The coursers have long legs, short wings and long bills that curve down at the end. They chase insects on the ground and they live in arid regions. The pratincoles have short legs and bills; long, pointed wings and forked tails. They hunt for insects while they are in the air. Species in this family include: the Egyptian plover, Temminck's courser, the Madagascar pratincole, the three-banded courser and the Indian courser. |
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Family: Haematopodidae - oystercatchers |
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Oystercatchers are shorebirds with long, stong, pointed bills that help them open oysters and other bivalves. They live on coasts in all areas of the world except for the Arctic and Antarctic regions. There are 10 species in this family, including the black oystercatcher, the South Island oystercatcher, the sooty oystercatcher, the pied oystercatcher, the African oystercatcher, the Eurasian oystercatcher and the American oystercatcher. |
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Family: Ibidorhynchidae - ibisbill |
The ibisbill is the only species in this family. It is found in south central Asia. It lives at high-altitudes near rivers. It has a long, downward curved, sharply-pointed pink bill, a gray body, a white belly with a black band on its chest and a black face.
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Family: Jacanidae - jacanas |
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Jacanas are found in tropical areas around the world. They are wading birds and have long legs and large feet with four long toes that help them walk on aquatic vegetation. They eat insects and other invertebrates. There are eight species of birds in this family: the lesser jacana, the African jacana, the Madagascar jacana, the northern jacana, comb-crested jacana, the bronze-winged jacana, the pheasant-tailed jacana and the wattled jacana. The northern jacana and the wattled jacana are found in Central and South America. The northern jacana can be found as far north as southern Texas. |
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Family: Pedionomidae - plains wanderer |
The plains wanderer is the only species in this family. It is a ground-dwelling bird that lives on the plains of eastern Australia. It eats seeds, spiders and insects. It looks like a small quail. It has a small bill; mottled brown, tan, white and black feathers and a cinnamon brown patch on its chest. There are about 8,000 plains wanderers in Australia and it is a protected species.
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Family: Recurvirostridae - avocets, stilts |
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There are 10 species in this family of birds. They are found all over the world, usually in marshy areas. They have long legs; long necks and long, pointed bills. The avocet's bill curves up at the end! Species in this family include: the black-winged stilt, the Australian stilt, the black-tailed stilt, the New Zealand stilt, the American avocet, the Andean avocet, the pied avocet and the red-necked avocet. The Black-necked Stilt and the American avocet are found in North America. |
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Family: Rostratulidae - painted snipes |
| There are two species in this family of marsh-dwelling birds,
the greater painted-snipe and the South American painted-snipe. The greater painted-snipe is found in Africa, Asia and Australia. The greater painted-snipe is unusual in that the female is more boldly patterned than the male. The female courts the male and the male incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks! The South American painted-snipe is found in southern South America.
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Scolopacidae - snipes, sandpipers,
dowitchers, curlews
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The birds in this family are usually found on shorelines and in wetlands around the world, although there are some species, like the upland sandpiper, that live in grasslands. They eat small invertebrates from the ground using their sharp bills. There are 89 species in this family and 36 species are found in North America. |
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Thinocoridae - seedsnipes |
| There are four species in this family of birds from South America: the rufous-bellied seedsnipe, the white-bellied seedsnipe, the gray-breasted seedsnipe and the least seedsnipe. They have short legs and long wings and are herbivores. |
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Family Laridae - gulls, terns,
skuas |
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There are 129 species in this family of seabirds. They are found near and on shorelines all over the world. Some species are pelagic and, except for during breeding season, spend all their time on the open ocean. Birds in this family are usually gray or white, often with black or gray markings. They have short legs, webbed feet and short bills. Most are omnivores, but a large part of their diet is made up of fish and aquatic invertebrates. |
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Family: Rynchopidae - skimmers |
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There are three species in this family. They are black and white and have large bills and webbed feet. The lower part of their bill is longer than the upper part. The Indian skimmer is found in India, the African skimmer is found in Africa and the black skimmer is found in North America along both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. |
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