[3] The genus Burhinus was erected by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811 with the bush stone-curlew as the type species.

The optimal maximum likelihood phylogenetic reconstruction using multi-locus (ADH5, GPD3-5 and FGB-7) analysis placed Burhinus within Charadrii, sister to Scolopaci.

[16][17][18][19] A phenotypic study of Charadriiformes suggests that Burhinidae should consist of three genera – Esacus, Burhinus plus resurrected Orthorhampus.

[3][23][24] There are three fossil species known: Burhinus are a genus of long-legged, large-eyed, terrestrial waders with eerie nocturnal calls.

[3][4] There are generally only minor plumage differences between the sexes, and the late juveniles of Burhinus appear similar to the adults.

Burhinus have a marked carpal angle and the outer wing has minimal tapering, with a pointed tip in some species.

[3] Burhinus move on the land with a measured sedate walk; head and body held horizontal in the same position to when they lay on the ground.

Eurasian stone-curlews are the exception, breeding in temperate areas and migrating south to avoid the northern winter.

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.

[3][4][28][29] 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.

[3][31] Burhinus can be sociable with non-breeding flocks of dozens to hundreds using traditional sites In Europe, 300 or more Eurasian stone-curlews have been seen together at times, whilst in Tunisia, 150 have been recorded together.

Variations in flocking behaviour over the species range may be influenced by differences in local predation, foraging and climate pressures.

Food items include insects (beetles, crickets, grasshoppers) plus crustaceans, molluscs, worms, centipedes, spiders, other bird's eggs, small mammals, reptiles and frogs.

[27] Food is picked up from the ground with the bill, probed from soft soil and wood, or gleaned from low vegetation.

[3][4][27] Burhinus forage on dry open ground, sometimes under trees, among crops pasture and grass, on saltpans, irrigation paddocks and riverbeds.

Courtship consists of short runs, skips and leaps with open wings and the black and white wing/tail patches may possibly be important.

They run on the spot with high steps, all the time repeating wails of increasing speed, final screams and trills.

[3][4] Eurasian stone-curlews will select a nest site with a bowing display – forward leaning with head and neck downward sometimes with the bill touching the ground.

Bowing performance at scrape before eggs are laid with arched posture ‘neck-arch’ display, then relaxing, before mating.

Water thick-knees will use more lining than other species and usually place the nest near a piece of driftwood or vegetation, sometimes on elephant dung.

[3][31] Bush stone-curlews nest under trees of open woodland with understorey of short sparse or lush grass, often near dead timber.

Bush stone-curlews have been seen lifting young after brooding and the Senegal thick-knee is suspected of carrying their chicks.

Eurasian stone-curlews often make short sharp notes like oyster-catchers (Haematopodidae), which are repeated, accelerating to up more prolonged curlew like calls and then dies away.

[3][4][29] Habitat destruction, urban development, intense cultivation, forestry, tourism, subdivisions, over grazing and burning, as well as introduced predators are some of the factors threatening Burhinus.

[3][28][35][39][40] In Britain, sensitive management of grazing in heathlands, setting aside patches within crops, and the protection of nests from predators, machinery and stock has led to a halt of the very sharp decline of the Eurasian stone-curlew, with this population now stable though not increasing.

[28][36] The Bush stone-curlew has contracted in its range, with reduced numbers or local extinction in the south and east.

[30] Some modification seems to be beneficial where suitable habitat is produced as a result, for example along road-sides for the American species, however this can lead to mortality as well.

[3] Due to their secretive nature, Burhinus mainly come to the attention of humans through their calls, leading to varied local names.

The calls of the bush stone-curlew caused unease to white settlers as well as Aboriginal people in Australia, especially because they are hard to see, which added to the fear and superstition.