The recolonization of the Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) in its natural steppe habitats in Hungary – an overview of the species’ grassland activities between 1995 and 2024

The Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) is an endangered shorebird in Hungary, which disappeared as a character breeding species from its sodic grassland habitats during the mid-1990s. Therefore, it was a positive experience to witness the return of this species to its natural habitats, which we observed and documented in 2022 and 2024, and suggested in 2023. During the 2022 observation, one of the three pairs nesting in the Alsó-Szúnyog-puszta reached the chick-rearing stage. We have summarised twenty-one observations of the species in its natural habitat during the breeding season between 2013 and 2024. Based on our data, Collared Pratincole has been confirmed to breed three times in Hungary in its natural habitats, with five additional instances of assumed breeding between 1995 and 2021. In 2022, the species bred in sodic grassland (Camphorosmetum annuae) grazed with livestock. Pratincoles nested in colonies mixed with Kentish Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) and other shorebirds, such as Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus), Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa), and Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus).