While it is foraging, the Australian Pratincole sometimes appears to borrow its habits from other species. When it is searching for insects on the ground the pratincole often appears rather plover-like, dashing gracefully on long legs across the ground or among low vegetation, then stopping to dip forward to peck at its prey, bobbing its head and wagging its tail. When foraging in the air, hawking insects in flight, it flies in the manner of a small tern, stiffly beating its long wings.
Description
The Australian Pratincole is a long-legged, slim-bodied bird with an upright stance and elegant posture when perched. It is sandy-olive with very long, narrow, pointed black wings, and has a deep chestnut brown and black patch on its flanks. When breeding, the bill is bright red at the base and on the gape, the legs and feet are dark grey, brownish or dark red. When not breeding, the plumage is duller, the bill mostly black, with blackish spotting on the throat and smaller flank-marks. The Australian Pratincole is also known as the Pratincole, Arnhem Land Grouse, Australian Courser, Roadrunner, Nankeen Plover and the Swallow-plover.
Distribution
The Australian Pratincole is mainly found in the north and eastern inland of Australia, as well as on Lord Howe Island, Christmas Island, and in New Guinea, Borneo and Sulawesi.
Habitat
The Australian Pratincole is most commonly found close to water, in open inland plains, sparsely wooded plains and tussock grasslands, usually in arid and semi-arid rainfall zones, and mainly in the lowlands. It is also found in areas of gibber (stony plains) and stony ground, and areas with sparse vegetation including claypans, stock-tanks, stock routes and airfields.
Feeding
The Australian Pratincole is insectivorous, feeding at dawn and in the evening on insects, spiders and centipedes. It has active salt-glands, which enable it to drink both fresh and saline water. It dashes after insects and small prey and often bobs its head.
Breeding
The Australian Pratincole can breed in any month after suitable rain. It is probably monogamous, and pair-bonds are maintained during breeding. Both sexes incubate the eggs and brood the young. The female lays the eggs on bare ground, sometimes choosing a small hollow in the ground, or scraping out a circle on stony ground. The nest is sometimes lined with small pebbles, dry vegetation or rabbit dung.
The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates
This Wherigo converts your player into a virtual version of the "Reverse Cache Box" which tells you the bearing to the cache, but not the distance. You may begin your search from any spot in the world using your Smartphone or Whereigo compatible GPS to navigate to the cache.
**As the cartridge produces whole number degrees, the triangulation is not accurate from long distances especially if the 2 readings are taken close together producing an acute angle at intersection, so don't be disheartened by a GZ that seems wrong, go near there and take more readings.**
The cartridge was created by day1976 and is available to download from the wherigo website. day1976's Open Source Reverse Wherigo .
Start up the player, find and load the cartridge. > NewGame > Find a Geocache > Answer > Enter First Code > xxxxx > Answer > Enter Second Code > xxxxx > Answer > The bearing to this Geocache is xxx degrees. This bearing is from where you are standing. It is now up to you how many times you relocate and obtain different bearings so as to triangulate the cache. The ultimate goal would be to find the cache with just one bearing reading, but for most, it would need a minimum of two bearings. Bearings are with respect to True North, so If using an OS map, allowances will have to be made, as Grid North, Magnetic North, and True North are all different!
To begin, you will have to type these two codes into your player when prompted:
jk3xa
epyjr
It is suggested that you take the code with you on your journey. It will be needed if it becomes necessary to restart your player for any reason.
Have Fun!
How to download the Whereigo Cartridge
You may begin your search from any spot in the world using a Whereigo compatible GPS unit or phone app.
Link to day1976's Open Source Reverse Wherigo cartridge.
Log into wherigo.com using your geocaching.com player name and password. The cartridge type used on phone apps is the Pocket PC Device.