NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Jerdon's Courser
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus (Blyth, 1848)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) is a nocturnal bird belonging to the pratincole and courser family Glareolidae endemic to India. The bird was discovered by the surgeon-naturalist Thomas C. Jerdon in 1848 but not seen again until its rediscovery in 1986.
This courser is a restricted-range endemic found locally in India in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. It is currently known only from the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, and Sri Penusila Narasimha Wildlife Sanctuary where it inhabits sparse scrub forest with patches of bare ground.
Wikipedia contributors, Jerdon's courser; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:26:21.054379+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhinoptilus bitorquatus (Blyth, 1848)
- Name authority
- (Blyth, 1848)
- Common name
- Jerdon's Courser
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Genus
- Rhinoptilus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyGlareolidae Brehm, 1831
- genusRhinoptilus Strickland, 1852
- speciesRhinoptilus bitorquatus (Blyth, 1848)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhinoptilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze-winged CourserRhinoptilus chalcopterus (Temminck, 1824) | GlareolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heuglin's CourserRhinoptilus cinctus (Heuglin, 1863) | GlareolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Double-banded CourserRhinoptilus africanus (Temminck, 1807) | GlareolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cursorius bitorquatus (Blyth, 1848) (Blyth, 1848) | synonym |
| Macrotarsius bitorquatus Blyth, 1848 Blyth, 1848 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=562725 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6X5PR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.