{{short description|Species of bird}} {{speciesbox | image = Peruvian Thick-knee (Burhinus superciliaris), crop.jpg | image_caption = at Santa Cruz de Flores, Lima, Peru | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Burhinus superciliaris'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22693597A93415005 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693597A93415005.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Hesperoburhinus | species = superciliaris | authority = (Tschudi, 1843) | synonyms = | range_map = Burhinus superciliaris map.svg | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#008000|range (year-round resident)|outline=gray}} }}
The '''Peruvian thick-knee''' ('''''Hesperoburhinus superciliaris''''') is a species of bird in the family Burhinidae. It is found in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and pastureland. It is a ground-dwelling bird and feeds on insects and small animals.
==Taxonomy== The Peruvian thick-knee was formally described in 1843 by the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi from a specimen collected in the coastal region of Peru. He coined the binomial name ''Oedicnenus superciliaris'' (the genus name is a typographic error for ''Oedicnemus'').<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Tschudi | first=Johann Jakob von | author-link=Johann Jakob von Tschudi | year=1843 | title=Diagnosen einiger neuer peruanischer vögel | language=Latin | journal=Archiv für Naturgeschichte | volume=9 | issue=1 | page=385–390 [387–388] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13703418 }}<!--Parts 1 and 2 both have a page 387--></ref> The specific epithet is Modern Latin meaning "eyebrowed" (''supercillium'' is the Latin word for "eyebrow").<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=374 }}</ref> The Peruvian thick-knee is now placed in the genus ''Burhinus'' that was erected in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Illiger | first=Johann Karl Wilhelm | author-link=Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger | year=1811 | title=Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium | language=Latin | location=Berolini [Berlin] | publisher=Sumptibus C. Salfeld | page=250 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29301220 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2021 | title=Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/buttonquail/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=1 June 2021 }}</ref> In IOC 14.1, the Peruvian thick-knee was transferred to the newly described genus ''Hesperoburhinus''.<ref name=ioc14.1>{{IOC_birdlist|14.1}}</ref> The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>
==Description== This medium-sized bird has brownish-grey plumage with brown streaks and spots. The underparts are white and the legs are yellow and long. There is a white streak through the eye with a black upper border. The short beak has a black tip. The length is about {{convert|40|cm|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Peru>{{cite web |url=http://www.peruecologico.com.pe/avcosta_huerequeque.htm |title=Huerequeque (''Burhinus superciliaris'') |work=Aves del Peru |publisher=Peru Ecologico |language=Spanish |access-date=2014-08-07}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The Peruvian thick-knee is found in South America in the coastal strip between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. Its range extends from northern Chile, through Peru to southern Ecuador. Its typical habitat is semi-desert areas, agricultural land, dry pasture or well-vegetated river valleys. It particularly favours open crops such as alfalfa or corn.<ref name=Peru/><ref name=Neotropical>{{cite web |url=https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=143956 |title=''Burhinus superciliaris'' |year=2010 |work=Neotropical Birds |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=23 August 2014}}</ref>
==Behaviour== The Peruvian thick-knee is most active at night. The diet is not known but the bird moves about on the ground foraging, probably feeding on insects, small lizards and other small animals.<ref name=HBW>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbw.com/species/peruvian-thick-knee-burhinus-superciliaris |url-access=subscription |title=Peruvian Thick-knee: ''Burhinus superciliaris'' |author=Hume, R. |year=1996 |editor=del Hoyo, J. |editor2=Elliott, A. |editor3=Sargatal, J. |editor4=Christie, D.A. |editor5=de Juana, E. |website=Birds of the World |access-date=24 August 2014}}</ref> It runs across the ground in a manner similar to an ostrich.<ref name=Peru/> It roosts in the open during the day, remaining motionless and difficult to spot as it is well-camouflaged by its brownish plumage. Its presence in an area may be most easily detected by its distinctive three-toed footprints in soft sand, and at night by its calls which are somewhat reminiscent of a lapwing (''Vanellus'' sp.).<ref name=Neotropical/> [[File:Peruvian Thick-knees resting in a parking lot.jpg|thumb|An adult with two fledglings in a dirt parking lot in Lima, Peru]] Little is known of the reproduction of this species<ref name=HBW/> but a nest containing two eggs has been observed in June on the Cerros de Naupe, a range of low mountains in Peru. The nesting site was on a dry, sparsely-vegetated slope with clumps of shrubs and cacti. The nest was a scrape in the ground with the area around it cleared of debris. The eggs were cream-coloured with blotches of tan and darker brown and measured approximately {{convert|53|x|39|mm}}. One parent was incubating the eggs while the other stood in the shade a few metres away.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Williams, Morris D. |year=1981 |title=Description of the Nest and Eggs of the Peruvian Thick-Knee (''Burhinus superciliaris'') |journal=The Condor |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=183–184 |doi=10.2307/1367428 |jstor=1367428 }}</ref> Peruvian thick-knees are more likely to stay in large flocks year round in Chile than in Peru, where flocks increase after breeding. Variations in flocking behaviour over the species range may be influenced by differences in local predation, foraging and climate pressures.<ref name=":7">Camacho, C (2012) Variations in flocking behaviour from core to peripheral regions of a bird species’ distribution range. ''Acta ethol'' '''15''':153-158.</ref>
==Status== The IUCN has listed the Peruvian thick-knee as being of "Vulnerable". This is because there has been a decline in its restricted range. .<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /><ref name=HBW/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Peruvian thick-knee Category:Birds of Peru Peruvian thick-knee Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi