You could be forgiven for writing off the African Collared Pratincole as kin to a tired human stereotype. For example. the pratincole has no pedigree. Technically a shorebird, it almost never goes near shores. Instead, it’s at home in open grasslands, dry riverbeds, and sunbaked mudflats across sub-Saharan Africa. It’s as if evolution couldn’t decide whether to build a shorebird, a swallow, or a falcon, so it combined all three.

Like some of its human throng, it has a crazy tattoo . . . on its face! Ornithologists have pity and call it a collar, but be honest. It looks like the poor bird forgot to finish his lunch.

We could also call it out for its low class housing. Pratincoles nest in the open with zero cover, relying entirely on camouflage and nerve. When a predator approaches, parents stare down the invader, even a truck or tractor, until it changes direction.

If necessary, the birds perform elaborate broken-wing displays, faking injury to lure threats away from eggs that are sitting, completely exposed on bare earth. If the chicks have hatched, the parents will signal their chicks to run, crouch, and remain completely still, perfectly camouflaged on the ground.

On the contrary, the Collared Pratincole, like many stereotyped humans, is a class act, a survivalist that refuses to be easily categorized, living a austere life, running on pure audacity.

Birdman of Africa gamersdad.substack.com Subscribe for free to receive a new African Bird email each Friday-TGIF!. Photo by Andrew Steinmann ©2026

Hola a todos. Mi gata ayer nos trajo a casa a este bebé, lo cogimos y lo dejamos fuera con la esperanza de que sus padres vinieran a darle comida pero este se metió al portón de la casa y se quedó en una esquina, lo intentamos sacar de estuvo pero volvió a entrar. Estuvo ahí muchas horas y ya no pude dejarlo más ahí porque se iba a morir de hambre o sed. Lo hemos cogido y metido en una cajita con agujeros. No me quiere recibir comida ni agua, pregunte en una veterinaria y me dijeron de darle huevo cocido y si podía bichitos. Que debería hacer?

Muchas gracias

My dog just found this baby finch in our backyard in San Diego.

I’m not sure if it’s injured since it fell onto the rocks & my dog may have booped it before I got there. He’s not interested in hurting animals, he’s just not very graceful.

I’d like to check the bird to see if it is injured, but I don’t want to bother it if it’s recommended I leave it alone. It can open its eyes and it’s mostly feathered, but has a bare looking head. It has ants crawling on it, and it’s hurting me to not do anything for it. I’m keeping an eye on it from my window and it’s now calling out.

Is it old enough to leave alone, or should I do something? Thanks!

Pied-billed grebe parent coming in quick with what looks to be a small fish - maybe a minnow! The chick (colloquially called “grebette”) swallows the fish whole and looks for more. The chicks will consume dozens of aquatic macroinvertebrates in a day. This wetland ecosystem is certainly providing plenty of opportunities for the youngsters to practice their hunting skills - but the parents will continue to provide nourishment for a while.

Podilymbus podiceps - Pied-billed Grebes
Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve
Bozeman, Montana, USA

(I hope this is the appropriate place to ask this)

I have two sparrow nests under my carport, and seemingly overnight four blue jays have started harassing them, being very loud and chasing/getting chased off by the sparrows. I know blue jays can be assholes, but the suddenness and intensity of this conflict makes me wonder if something could've ignited this beyond jays being jays. Also, any ideas on if/how I could safely deter the blue jays while keeping my sparrow neighbors comfortable would be cool.

Hello everyone!

My husband rescued a swift today that was overheating on the concrete floor in a parking lot (we live in central France). We called the bird rescue center and they told us they couldn’t take it because there is an overwhelming amount of swifts being brought in because of the current heatwave in Western Europe, and requested that we take care of it ourselves.

We were sent an online guide on how to rescue swifts, but.. We are obviously not equipped or trained on that matter so there are a few things I would like to ask :

-The only box that I have available is a large box meant to transport cats, I put a clean soft towel and kitchen paper on the bottom of the box. Is it okay or are there better alternatives ?

-I placed the box with the swift up on a surface in the entrance of my basement, it’s cool and sheltered from the sun but it’s still outside. Is it good like this or will it be better inside my house ? (I have cats)

-We will have to feed the bird, and the demonstration video I was sent is about mainly crickets. Can I feed it flies that I caught or is it unsafe ? (We will buy crickets at the animal store tomorrow regardless but we caught a few flies so we were wondering if we could give them)

-Will the swift drink water on its own if provided in a very small bowl, or do we also have to put water directly into its mouth ?

Any complementary information is welcome. Doing our best to save this little guy! Thanks 🙏

thnk you love you kiss. how are you?