The family Glareolidae includes 1 species found in North America.

Pratincoles and Coursers inhabit open country, in wet or semiarid regions, in Africa, southern Europe, Asia and Australia. They are small to medium-sized plover-like birds with long, pointed wings and rapid, almost falcon-like, flight. 

Plumages tend to be cryptically colored in buff, gray, brown and black. Sexes are alike. The typical pratincoles feed on insects usually captured in flight, "hawking" like giant swallows. They also forage for insects on the ground. 

They nest in colonies near water. The nest is a scrape in the ground or a depression on a rock. Eggs 1-4, usually 2-3, yellowish with dark markings. In all pratincoles both sexes incubate for 17-21 days.