The genus name is a diminutive of Latin glarea, "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles.

The black-winged pratincole is a bird of open country and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects.

It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, and is rare north or west of the breeding range.

An unusual feature of the pratincoles is that, although classed as waders, they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.

The black-winged pratincole is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.