Stone curlew  (Burhinus oedicnemus)

This species has a discontinuous breeding range in Europe, extending from southern Britain (the north-western extreme of the range) east to southern Russia and south to Spain, southern Italy, the Balkans and the Caucasus in Russia. They over-winter in Spain, North Africa and the southern extreme of the Sahara (3). In the UK, stone curlews were formerly widespread up into the Cotswolds, Yorkshire and the East Midlands (3). They are now found mainly in Brecklands and Wessex, with a few pairs elsewhere in East Anglia (5).

The stone curlew breeds on semi-natural grassland, chalk downland, grass heaths, and on agricultural land (3). It is associated with free-draining stony soils, and nesting occurs on stony ground, particularly with short or patchy vegetation (3). On semi-natural grassland grazing by sheep and rabbits can provide a short sward suitable for stone curlews to breed (3).