page_title: Burhinus
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Burhinus / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: Author is Ulrich Prokop (Scops)
context_page_description: Burhinus is a genus of bird in the family Burhinidae. This family also contains the genus Esacus. The genus name Burhinus comes from the Greek bous, ox, and rhis, nose.
  The Burhinus are commonly called thick-knee, stone-curlew or dikkop. They are medium-sized, terrestrial waders, though they are generally found in semi-arid to arid, open areas. Only some species of Burhinus are associated with water. The genus ranges from 32 cm to 59 cm in size. Burhinus are characterised by their long legs, long wings and cryptic plumage. Most species have a short, thick, strong bill. The stone-curlews are found all over the world except Antarctica. They are mainly tropical, with the greatest diversity in the old world.
context_section_description: More species of Burhinus species are found in the tropics and sub-tropics, than other bioregions. They are generally sedentary and can live their whole lives within a few kilometres of hatching site. Eurasian stone-curlews are the exception, breeding in temperate areas and migrating south to avoid the northern winter. Birds from Britain and France will migrate to Italy, Greece, and Turkey and further. Bush stone-curlews will move to find food. Both Eurasian and Bush stone-curlews use a much larger area outside the breeding season. Double-striped, Peruvian and the spotted thick-knees are rarely seen outside breeding areas while Senegal thick-knees will move based on rains in north. Burhinus are very typical in their requirements and are usually found in dry open country though the Senegal and water thick-knees are associated with water. They can breed in arid and semi-arid habitats but not in closed woodland or forest. They are generally found in open spaces with extensive visibility on dry fairly even ground. Their habitat is usually a mixture of bare earth and vegetation with some species, like the Bush stone-curlew, found in lightly timbered, open forest and woodland. Eurasian stone-curlews are mostly found on free draining sandy soils with stones, both semi-natural and tilled. They will roost in the shade at the edge of a forest. Partly cleared farmland can be used as well but intense cultivation will drive them away. Burhinus are generally timid and wary, though in some case they may live close to humans using resources from dung and crops, as well as nesting on rooftops.
caption: Migration of the Eurasian stone-curlew illustrated by different colours.      summer     year-round     winter
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