Movements and Migration

Like many other courser species, the movements of Temminck's Courser are complex and poorly understood. It is principally nomadic, exploiting a variety of habitats in the early stages of succession, such as the edges of seasonal pans or recently burnt grass, usually arriving within hours or a few days after a fire (104 Dean, W. R. J. (1987). Birds associating with fire at Nylsvley Nature Reserve, Transvaal. Ostrich 58(3):103–106. Close , 106 Maclean, G. L., and M. Herremans (1997). Burchell's Courser Cursorius rufus. In The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 1: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allan, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, A. J. Tree, V. Parker, and C. J. Brown, Editors), BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. pp. 444–445. Close , 107 Engelbrecht, G. D. (2001). First record of the fledging period of Temminck's Courser, Cursorius temminckii. Ostrich 72(1/2):117–118. Close , 69 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists' Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ). Some populations are resident, while some are thought to be local seasonal or intra-African migrants (68 Britton, P. L., Editor (1980). Birds of East Africa. East African Natural History Society, Nairobi, Kenya. Close , 108 Brooke, R. K. (1994). Subspeciation studies and our knowledge of migration and other movements in Southern African birds. Ostrich 65(2):49–53. Close , 85 Maclean, G. L., and M. Herremans (1997). Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii. In The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 1: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allan, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, A. J. Tree, V. Parker, and C. J. Brown, Editors), BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. pp. 446–448. Close , 79 Dean, W. R. J. (2000). The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 18. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close , 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 ). Clancey (13 Clancey, P. A. (1984). Geographical variation and post-breeding dispersal in Temminck’s Courser of the Afrotropics. Gerfaut 74(4):361–374. Close ) postulated that populations from West Africa are trans-equatorial intra-African migrants to southern Africa, a notion that has not received unanimous support (e.g., 78 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Attempts to unravel the complexities of this species' movements are thwarted by relatively minor plumage differences between the different subspecies, individual plumage variation, the degree of feather wear, different putative subspecies co-occurring at certain times of the year, and individuals matching the plumage coloration of the nominate subspecies occasionally oversummer on their wintering grounds (13 Clancey, P. A. (1984). Geographical variation and post-breeding dispersal in Temminck’s Courser of the Afrotropics. Gerfaut 74(4):361–374. Close , 2 Engelbrecht, D. (2025). Notes on the behaviour and breeding biology of Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. The Lark 58:79–86. Close ). Furthermore, an overlooked factor that may enhance similarities in plumage coloration among subspecies in a given region is Temminck's Courser's propensity for dust-bathing (2 Engelbrecht, D. (2025). Notes on the behaviour and breeding biology of Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii. The Lark 58:79–86. Close , see Self-Maintenance). Finally, improved access to many parts of Africa and data from various citizen science projects has and is continuing to improve our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of the Afrotropical avifauna, often challenging the views held by ornithologists in earlier literature sources.

In East and West Africa, the nominate subspecies C. t. temminckii occurs year-round in most regions but is highly nomadic, following in the wake of the wet season or moving into areas in response to the burning of grasslands during the dry season (68 Britton, P. L., Editor (1980). Birds of East Africa. East African Natural History Society, Nairobi, Kenya. Close , 69 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists' Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close , 36 Borrow, N., and R. Demey (2014). Birds of Western Africa. Second edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Reports of vagrants, probably individuals dispersing in winter, reaching the Western Palaearctic have been rejected (38 Crochet, P-A., and M. Haas (2013). Western Palearctic list updates: re-evaluation of five species from continental Mauritania. Dutch Birding 35(1):28–30. Close ; see Distribution), though individuals have been recorded close to 21°N (considered the boundary between the Afrotropics and the Palaearctic) in Mauritania, and it is conceivable that vagrants may occasionally stray into the Western Palaearctic. According to Maclean and Urban (26 Maclean, G. L., and E. K. Urban (1986). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii Swainson. In The Birds of Africa. Volume 2 (E. K. Urban, C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors). Academic Press, London, UK. pp. 212–213. Close ), the species is reportedly absent from northern Tanzania in April and May; however, citizen science data from eBird do not support this claim. There are fewer records during this period, which coincides with the long rains in the region, but some individuals remain throughout this period.

In Central Africa, Maclean and Urban described it as a seasonal visitor (present only from March–June) in Katanga, in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but noted that the species breeds from August to October in this country (26 Maclean, G. L., and E. K. Urban (1986). Temminck’s Courser Cursorius temminckii Swainson. In The Birds of Africa. Volume 2 (E. K. Urban, C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors). Academic Press, London, UK. pp. 212–213. Close ). However, eBird records indicate that the species is present throughout the year. In Zambia and Malawi, it is present throughout the year, but is mainly a breeding resident during the dry season (April–December) (109 Benson, C. W., and F. M. Benson (1977). The Birds of Malawi. Montfort Press, Limbe, Malawi. Close , 77 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press and Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close , 78 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Most birds leave the region when the rains start and the vegetation becomes too dense, but some remain behind in relatively dry areas with little cover, e.g., the Liuwa Plains in western Zambia (110 Dowsett, R. J., and P. M. Leonard (2009). Intra-African migrants in Zambia. In A Contribution to the Ornithology of Zambia (R. J. Dowsett, Editor), Tauraco Research Report No. 9, Liège, Belgium. pp. 91–113. Close ), or large open areas with short grass, such as airfields, e.g., the airport fields at Chileka in southern Malawi (77 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press and Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Similarly, the species is present throughout the year in Angola. Based on the information available at the time, Dean (79 Dean, W. R. J. (2000). The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 18. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ) considered Temminck's Courser an intra-African migrant in Angola due to the absence of records in June. However, at the time of Dean's publication, Angolan ornithology was still in its infancy, as political instability and the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) had caused Angolan ornithology to stagnate because ornithologists and birdwatchers rarely visited the country. The end of the civil war and subsequent improvements in access have resulted in Angola becoming a popular birding destination, leading to enhanced knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of birds in the country (111 Mills, M. (2017). The Birder's Guide to Africa. Go-Away-Birding, Cape Town, South Africa. Close , 112 Mills, M. (2018). The Special Birds of Angola - As Aves Especiais de Angola. Go-Away-Birding, Cape Town, South-Africa. Close ). Since then, there have been sightings in June, for example, at Bengo in 2017 (eBird checklist S37530673) and Mount Moco in 2023 (eBird checklist S142984989), confirming the species' year-round presence, although numbers peak at the end of the dry season. Furthermore, there are multiple records of Temminck's Courser from Liuwa Plains National Park in western Zambia, which borders Angola, suggesting the species may be overlooked in the remote parts of eastern Angola.

In southern Africa, the same movement patterns are evident as elsewhere in its distribution, i.e., lower reporting rates in the wet season when birds vacate an area in search of open habitats with sparse cover, followed by an increase when conditions are drier and vegetation cover is sparser (86 Irwin, M. P. S. (1981). The Birds of Zimbabwe. Quest Publishing, Harare, Zimbabwe. Close , 85 Maclean, G. L., and M. Herremans (1997). Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii. In The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 1: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allan, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, A. J. Tree, V. Parker, and C. J. Brown, Editors), BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. pp. 446–448. Close ). Nonbreeding birds may move into an area shortly after the onset of the rains, when grass and low herbaceous plants begin to grow and invertebrate prey is abundant, and then disperse to their breeding grounds in the early dry season (113 Brewster, C. A. (2004). Birds of the Bobirwa area of eastern Botswana. Babbler (Botswana) 44:3–43. Close , 114 Herremans, M. (2004). Effects of drought on birds in the Kalahari, Botswana. Ostrich 75(4):217–227. Close ). Still, in any given region, some individuals remain through the wet season and are present year-round. Data from the first South African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1) revealed an increase in the reporting rate in Namibia and northwestern Botswana during the wet season (85 Maclean, G. L., and M. Herremans (1997). Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii. In The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 1: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allan, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, A. J. Tree, V. Parker, and C. J. Brown, Editors), BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. pp. 446–448. Close ). Additionally, SABAP1 data indicated a decrease in the reporting rate in the southwest of its South African range during winter, accompanied by a concomitant influx into northeastern Zimbabwe ( 85 Maclean, G. L., and M. Herremans (1997). Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii. In The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 1: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allan, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, A. J. Tree, V. Parker, and C. J. Brown, Editors), BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. pp. 446–448. Close , 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 ). This led the authors to conclude that birds from the south migrate north in winter. It has also been suggested that the nominate subspecies from the Sahelian region is present in southern Africa from March to July (13 Clancey, P. A. (1984). Geographical variation and post-breeding dispersal in Temminck’s Courser of the Afrotropics. Gerfaut 74(4):361–374. Close ); however, in the absence of convincing evidence for this notion, this notion is rejected here.

Natal Philopatry and Dispersal

Information needed,

Adult Fidelity to Breeding Site and Dispersal

Given the species' highly nomadic life history, adult fidelity to a breeding site is likely low or non-existent.

Fidelity to Overwintering Home Range

Study needed.

Although many literature sources suggest Temminck's Courser is a partial, seasonal, or intra-African migrant, concrete evidence is scant. As such, migration will not be discussed here.