- Pterocles orientalis
Identification
33-39cm (13-15¼ in)
Male
- Grey head, neck and breast
- Black underparts
- Golden-brown upperparts with darker markings
- Thin black border to lower breast
- Chestnut throat patch
Female : Similar to the male but rather more brown. Upperparts, head and breast are more finely marked.
Distribution
Iberia, northwest Africa, Canary Islands, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel, Kazakhstan, western China and northern Pakistan.
Taxonomy
Pterocles orientalis has two subspecies:[1]
- P. o. orientalis
- Fuerteventura Island, Iberian Peninsula and Morocco to western Iran
- P. o. arenarius
- Kazakstan to southern Iran, Afghanistan, and north-western China
- The male is yellower above and greyer below than P. o. orientalis and the female is whiter below.
Habitat
Semi-dry open plains and vegetated semi-desert and scrubland.
Behaviour
Breeding
Its nest is a ground scrape; 3 greenish eggs with cryptic markings are laid. Both sexes incubate, but only the male brings water.
Vocalisation
The call is a soft chowrrr rrrr-rrrr.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-bellied Sandgrouse. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-bellied_Sandgrouse
External Links
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