These were rather shy birds so I was pleased to get these photo. Top two are adult, bottom two are juvenile.
Pratincoles are in their own family, the Glareolidae which they share with the coursers. They are related to the shorebirds, but often forage like swallows, taking insects in mid-air.
This species is sometimes called the Common Pratincole. Some authors have lumped it with the similar Oriental (G. maldivarum) and Black-winged (G.nordmanni) pratincoles, the latter of which is a winter visitor to parts of East Africa. The former has hybridized with Collared. Both species have a much shorter tail than Collared in which the tail reaches the wing-tips as seen in this photo.
Geographic variation is slight and the three currently recognized subspecies are questionable. G. p. fuelleborni is restricted to East Africa. It is said to be smaller and darker than nominate.
Nikon P510 Coolpix Point-and-shoot