Thick-knees

Eurasian Thick-knee

Triel

Burhinus oedicnemus

Thick-knees4 photosFirst seen: 6 September 2026

The Eurasian Thick-knee is a mostly nocturnal ground bird of dry open country from Europe and North Africa across western and central Asia. By day it often stands motionless and relies on cryptic plumage.

ID tip: Large yellow eyes, long yellow legs and bold pale-and-dark wing markings are distinctive. In flight the wings show strong black and white bars unlike those of most waders.

First seen: 6 September 2026 · Ulcinj Salt Flats · 4 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Ulcinj Salt Flats6 September 2026

Family: Thick-knees (Burhinidae)
Length: 38–45 cm
Wingspan: 76–88 cm
Regional status: Summer visitor (Montenegro)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 8 September 2026
Habitat: Dry open ground, steppe, stony fields, dunes and sparsely vegetated coastal flats
Diet: Beetles, grasshoppers, worms, molluscs and occasionally small vertebrates

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Eurasian Thick-knee

Places in my records

Selected photographs