Black-bellied sandgrouse

Pterocles orientalis

Photo by David Lanza (Ornito Addiction)

Common name:
black-bellied sandgrouse (en); cortiçol-de-barriga-preta (pt); ganga unibande (fr); ganga ortega (es); sandflughuhn (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Pterocliformes
Family Pteroclidae

Range:
This species is found in the Iberian Peninsula, in north-west Africa from southern Morocco to north-western Libya, and in south-eastern and central Asia from Turkey, Cyprus and north-eastern Egypt, through Iraq and Iran and into southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and north-western China. The central Asian population migrate south to winter in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and north-western India. There are also resident populations in the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

Size:
These birds are 30-40 cm long and have a wingspan of 60-75 cm. They weigh 300-480 g.

Habitat:
The black-bellied sandgrouse is mostly found in dry grasslands and scrublands, also using arable land and desert areas.

Diet:
They feed mainly on seeds, also taking buds, leaves and shoots of a wide range of grasses, herbs and scrubs.

Breeding:
Black-bellied sandgrouse breed in March-August. They nest on the ground, on a shallow depression sometimes lined with pieces of dried grasses and circled with small stones. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 21-28 days. The chicks are precocial, leaving the nest soon after hatching and being able to feed by themselves. However, they rely on their parents for drinking, with the father usually being responsible for collecting drinking water in stores in its breast feathers from where the young suck the water. they start flying 3-4 weeks after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 0,5-4 million individuals. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction.

Namaqua sandgrouse

Pterocles namaqua

Photo by Ian White (Flickr)

Common name:
Namaqua sandgrouse (en); cortiçol-da-Namáqua (pt); ganga namaqua (fr); ganga de Namaqua (es); Nama-flughuhn (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Pterocliformes
Family Pteroclidae


Range:
This species is found in southern Africa, from south-western Angola, through Namibia and Botswana and into Zimbabwe and western South Africa.


Size:
These birds are 24-28 cm long and weigh 140-240 g.


Habitat:
The Namaqua sandgrouse is found in stony deserts, dry scrublands, sandy deserts with scattered bits of grass and dry savannas.


Diet:
They mainly eat small seeds from the ground, namely Indigofera, Lotononis, Tephrosia, Requernia sphaerosperma, Limeum, Giseckia pharnacioides, Amaranthus, Cleome, Chenopodium, Lophiocarpus burchelli and several grasses and daisies. These are complemented with flowers, small fruits and fresh leaves.


Breeding:
Namaqua sandgrouses can breed all year round. They are monogamous, solitary nesters, nesting in a simple scrape in the ground, often lined with grit and typically placed next to a small scrub or grass tuft. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 3 weeks. The chicks leave the nest within a day of hatching and are able to feed themselves, but rely on the male for water and protection for several weeks. During this period the male flies to watering holes and soaks his belly feathers which the young drink from.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be common to locally abundant in much of its range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Tibetan sandgrouse

Syrrhaptes tibetanus

Photo by Manjula Mathur (Forum Zoologist)

Common name:

Tibetan sandgrouse (en); cortiçol-do-Tibete (pt); syrrhapte du Tibet (fr); ganga tibetana (es); Tibetflughuhn (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Pterocliformes

Family Pteroclidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in and around the Tibetan plateau, from the Kashmir and Pamir mountains of Pakistan and Tajikistan in the west, east to the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan, and north to the Chinese mountains of Astin Tagh and Nan Shan.

Size:

This large sangrouse is 30-41 cm long and can weigh up to 500 g.

Habitat:

They occur in high altitude (3500-5000 m), barren, stony semi-deserts. In some areas they move to lower elevation in winter.

Diet:

The Tibetan sandgrouse feeds on seeds, grasses, buds and legumes.

Breeding:

This species breeds in May-June. The female lays 3 pale brown eggs with cryptic markings in a depression on bare stony ground. Sometimes the nest may be protected by a stone or grass. The eggs are incubated for 20-25 days, the males incubate during the night and the females incubate during the day. The precocial chicks leave the nest soon after hatching and are able to feed themselves, but the parents will protect and warm them for the next few weeks.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The Tibetan sandgrouse has a large breeding range and is reported to be common within that range. Although the population is believed to be declining in some areas, the species is not considered threatened at present.