Conservation and Management

Temminck's Courser (Cursorius temminckii) is not globally threatened, and its 2024 IUCN Red List Assessment status was Least Concern (156 BirdLife International (2024). Species factsheet: Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/temmincks-courser-cursorius-temminckii on 11/02/2025 Close ). Its wide habitat tolerance and generalized habits make it one of the most common and widespread coursers in sub-Saharan Africa (154 Delany S., D. A. Scott, T. Dodman, and D. Stroud (2009). An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Close , 138 Maclean, G. L., G. M. Kirwan, and D. A. Christie (2020). Temminck's Courser (Cursorius temminckii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close , 155 Wetlands International (2025). Waterbird Populations Portal. Retrieved from wpp.wetlands.org on 11 February 2025. Close ). There are no significant threats facing any of the populations, and populations across its range appear to be stable. It is well-represented in protected areas and opportunistically exploits man-modified habitats such as fallow fields, recently plowed lands, heavily grazed pastures, sports fields, and airfields (5 Hockey, P. A. R. (2005). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. In Roberts Birds of Southern Africa (P. A. R. Hockey, W. R. J. Dean, and P. G. Ryan, Editors), Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. pp. 426–427. Close ).

Habitat Loss and Degradation

The species may be sensitive to bush encroachment in parts of its range (5 Hockey, P. A. R. (2005). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. In Roberts Birds of Southern Africa (P. A. R. Hockey, W. R. J. Dean, and P. G. Ryan, Editors), Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. pp. 426–427. Close ). Habitat loss through urban expansion, notably in the highveld regions of the Gauteng Province, South Africa, has resulted in a decline in numbers in this region (5 Hockey, P. A. R. (2005). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. In Roberts Birds of Southern Africa (P. A. R. Hockey, W. R. J. Dean, and P. G. Ryan, Editors), Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. pp. 426–427. Close ). Overgrazing and the concomitant loss of grass and invertebrate diversity may reduce the food supply for Temminck's Courser (92 Vernon, C. (1982). Coursers in the Eastern Cape. Bee-eater 33:31–34. Close ).

Effects of Invasive Species

Information needed.

Shooting and Trapping (or Hunting and Trapping)

Information needed.

Pesticides and Other Contaminants/Toxics

On a local scale, some populations may be directly affected, e.g., poisoning, or indirectly, e.g., loss of prey, by insecticides (5 Hockey, P. A. R. (2005). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. In Roberts Birds of Southern Africa (P. A. R. Hockey, W. R. J. Dean, and P. G. Ryan, Editors), Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. pp. 426–427. Close ). Data are needed.

Collisions with Stationary/Moving Structures or Objects

Although a potential candidate for colliding with energy infrastructure and fences, no collision records with such structures have been reported (150 Ralston-Paton, S., J. Smallie, A. Pearson, and R. Ramalho (2017). Wind energy’s impacts on birds in South Africa: A preliminary review of the results of operational monitoring at the first wind farms of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme in South Africa. BirdLife South Africa Occasional Report Series No. 2. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close , 151 Perold, V., S. Ralston-Paton, and P. Ryan (2020). On a collision course? The large diversity of birds killed by wind turbines in South Africa. Ostrich 91(3):228–239. Close ). It is an occasional victim of collisions with vehicles (roadkill) (157 de Swardt, D. H., and R. J. Nuttall (2003). An analysis of road-killed bird specimens in the collection of the Ornithology Department, National Museum, Bloemfontein. Bird Numbers 12(2):13–16. Close , 158 Davies, G. B. D. (2021). Preliminary report on the causes of mortality recorded in the avian collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Unpublished report. California, USA. Close ).

Human/Research Impacts

Nesting pairs are wary of observers on foot but return to the nest within minutes after the human has left the area (159 Nuttall, R. J., and D. H. de Swardt (1993). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii breeding near Jagersfontein, Orange Free State. Mirafra 10(3):57–58. Close , 121 Skead, C. J. (1995). Life-history Notes on East Cape Bird Species (1940–1990). Volume 1. Algoa Regional Services Council, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Close , G. D. Engelbrecht, personal observation).

Conservation Areas

Temminck's Courser is well-represented in many conservation areas throughout its range.

Conservation Measures and Habitat Management

There are no species-specific conservation measures in place for the species anywhere within its distribution.