from Mangaon, Maharashtra, India GlareolaStiltia The pratincoles or greywaders are a subfamily (Glareolinae) of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae.

Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.

Their flight is fast and graceful like a swallow or a tern, with many twists and turns to pursue their prey.

Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World, from southern Europe and Africa east through Asia to Australia.

The name "pratincole" comes from the term pratincola coined by German naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer from the Latin words prātum meadow and incola resident.