Cream-coloured Courser

• It builds no nest: it lays its eggs straight onto bare ground, relying on the camouflage of its sandy colour.
• On the Iberian Peninsula there are a few accepted records, almost all of them in spring, coastal and southern, including one confirmed case of breeding in Almería in 2001.
• Despite being a Saharan bird, it has been recorded as a vagrant at latitudes as far north as Finland, Ireland and Great Britain.
• It builds no nest: it lays its eggs directly on the stony ground. Almost the entire European population of the species is concentrated on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Arid and semi-desert country. Its main world range is the Sahel belt and the Arabian Peninsula, with scattered breeding pockets north of the Sahara. In Spain its population is concentrated almost entirely on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

Litter / clutch size

2-3 eggs laid directly on the ground: it builds no nest

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y Libro Rojo de las Aves de España 2021) · Catálogo Español de Especies Amenazadas · IUCN Red List (BirdLife International 2012) · Bernis et al. 1996, Ardeola (nombres castellanos SEO) · Animalia.bio · Latham 1787

Best time: All year round on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura; it is resident