The stone-curlews or thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia.
They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes—which give them a reptilian appearance—and cryptic plumage. The names thick-knee and stone-curlew are both in common use, the preference among authorities for one term or the other varying from year to year. The term stone-curlew owes its origin to the broad similarities with true curlews (which are not closely related). Thick-knee refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs and apparently originated with a name coined in 1776 for B. oedicnemus, the Thick-kneed Bustard.
Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. They are largely nocturnal, particularly when singing their loud wailing songs, which are reminiscent of true curlews.
Food is insects and other invertebrates. The larger species will also take lizards and even small mammals.
Most species are sedentary, but the Stone Curlew is a summer migrant in the temperate European part of its range, wintering in Africa.
The inclusion of Telmatornis within the Charadriiformes and near the Burhinidae suggests that the burhinids themselves, or at least their relatives, may be primitive within the order.
SUMMARY The Cretaceous genus Telmatornis is removed from the Rallidae and placed in the Charadriiformes near the Burhinidae.
The Aquitanian fossil Milnea gracilis is removed from the Burhinidae and is probably conspecific with Eudocimus paganus of the Threskiornithidae.
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