Unidentified bird on Koh Kood, Thailand

[Else Marie Nordman]

I saw this bird on a beach as the boat stopped, just a week ago, and have been unable to identify it. Greatful for any help :)

[Jurij Hanžel]

It's an Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum. The location facilitates the identification - eliminating Collared and particularly Black-winged with certainty on the basis of these pictures alone would be quite a challenge.

[forktail]

Pointers to Oriental are the chestnut underwing visible - eliminates Black-winged; the darkish upperparts better for Oriental, the seemingly short tail also better for Oriental (on Collared, barring mishaps, it would be visible to the primary tips) and the cinnamony suffusion to the breast which is more extensive and 'richer' than the buffer, more limited breast markings of Collared or Black-winged.

And it's the only one there! Nordman is a very good Oriental birding name too!

F.