| Peruvian Thick-knee Burhinus superciliaris
Chilean name: Chorlo cabezón |
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Chile and Peru
The Peruvian Thick-knee is distributed from the extreme south of Ecuador
through Peru to the extreme north of Chile. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.
They are usually found in dry agricultural areas and semi-arid grasslands. It has a large head and very large eyes and, as the name suggests, thick "knees" on its long legs. The head has a pale supercilium with a thick black stripe above and the bill is pale greenish-yellow with a dark tip. They feed at night, hence the large eyes, and roost during the day in the dry grass. Very well camouflaged and immobile during the day, they are difficult birds to spot. |
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The north of Chile where photos 1 to 3 were taken, seems to be a fairly recent range extension. HBW Volume 3, published in 1996, does not include the north of Chile in its range except to mention "One record from N Chile in 1851 may have referred to a vagrant, or perhaps to an extension, presumably temporary, of range as currently known." So its good to see them back. | |||
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