Sandgrouse
Double-banded Sandgrouse
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Neognathae
Order:	Pteroclidiformes
Family:	Pteroclididae Bonaparte, 1831
Genera
Pterocles Syrrhaptes

Sandgrouse is also the name of the journal of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East - see Sandgrouse

The sandgrouse are a family, Pteroclididae, of 16 bird species, the only living members of the order Pteroclidiformes. They are restricted to treeless open country in the Old World, such as plains and semi-deserts. They are distributed across northern, southern and eastern Africa as well as Madagascar; the Middle East, India through to central Asia; France and the Iberian Peninsula. Sandgrouse are traditionally placed in two genera with two central Asian species in Syrrhaptes, and the rest in Pterocles, but recent research casts some doubt on this division.

Appearance[link]

Sandgrouse have small, pigeon-like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They range in size from 24 to 40 centimetres (9.4 to 16 in) in length and from 150 to 500 grams (5.3 to 18 oz) in weight. There is little sexual dimorphism in size, although the males are slightly larger and more brightly coloured than the females. They have strong primary feathers and long pointed wings giving them a fast direct flight. The muscles of the wings are powerful and they are capable of a rapid takeoff and sustained flight. Their short legs are feathered down to the toes, and genus Syrrhaptes has the toes feathered as well. The plumage is cryptic, generally being sandy brown, variously mottled and barred, enabling them to merge into the arid landscape. The plumage varies considerably amongst the sexes. The feathers of the belly are specially adapted to absorbing water and retaining it, allowing adult birds, particularly males, to carry water to chicks that may be many miles away from watering holes.^[1][2] 15 to 20 millilitres (0.5 to 0.7 fluid ounce) of water can be carried in this way.^[3]

Behaviour[link]

Diet and feeding[link]

Sandgrouse are gregarious and feed and drink in large flocks

Sandgrouse are principally seed eaters. A number of other food items have been found in the stomachs of sandgrouse that have been shot, but the quantity is so small that they could be accounted as incidentally swallowed material. The diet of many species is highly specialised, with the seeds of a small number of plant species dominating the diets. This may sometimes reflect the local availability, but in other circumstances this reflects actual selection of plant material by the sandgrouse. Species in the family Leguminosae are often favoured in their diet. In agricultural areas oats and grains are readily taken. Seeds are either collected from the ground or directly from the plants. Foraging techniques vary amongst species that coexist in order to reduce competition; in Namibia Double-banded Sandgrouse feed slowly and methodically whilst Namaqua Sandgrouse feed rapidly.

Sandgrouse are gregarious, feeding in flocks of up to 100 birds. Their diet is dry and as a consequence they need to regularly visit water in order to drink. As they travel to water holes, they call to members of their own species and many hundreds or thousands of birds may visit a drinking site at any one time. They are vulnerable to attack while watering but with a large number of birds milling about, predators find it difficult to select a target bird and are likely to have been spotted before they could get close to the flock. Sandgrouse travel tens of miles to their traditional water holes and tend to disregard temporary water sources which may appear periodically. This probably has a survival value because a dried up water source in an arid region could result in dehydration and death.^[2] The Burchell's Sandgrouse in the Kalahari Desert sometimes travels over 100 miles (160 km) daily to reach a water source.^[3] Not all species need to drink every day, and one species, the Tibetan Sandgrouse, does not travel to drink, presumably because of the relative abundance of water from melting snowfields in its habitat.^[2]

Most species are resident, but Pallas's Sandgrouse is eruptive, occasionally appearing in areas well outside its normal range. This happened in 1863 and 1888, and a major eruption took place in 1908 when many birds were seen in Ireland and the United Kingdom and bred as far north as Yorkshire and Moray.^[2][3]

Breeding[link]

Sandgrouse are monogamous. As the breeding season approaches, usually timed to coincide with a crop of seeds after the local rainy season, the feeding flocks tend to break up into pairs. The nesting site is nothing more than a slight depression in the ground; occasionally this can take the form of a footprint. Most typically three cryptic eggs are laid, occasionally there may be two and rarely four. Incubation duties are shared, with the males incubating at night and during the early morning and the females during the day. The chicks usually hatch after 20–25 days. The precocial chicks are covered with down and leave the nest as soon as the last hatchling has dried out. They are capable of feeding themselves from hatching, but need to learn feeding skills from their parents and remain as part of a family group for several months. At first the chicks are too small and young to thermoregulate, and are provided with shade during the hottest part of the day and are brooded at night.^[1]

Relations with humans[link]

Sandgrouse have little interactions with people, primarily because most species live in arid unpopulated areas and at low densities. They are not generally sought after as game birds as they are not especially palatable, although they have on occasion been taken in great numbers at water holes. An attempt to introduce them into Nevada failed but they have been introduced to Hawaii. No species is considered to be threatened although there have been some localised range contractions, particularly in Europe.

Taxonomy[link]

The Pteroclididae was formerly included in the Galliformes due to the similarities the family shares with the true grouse. However, it was later discovered that these similarities are superficial and a result of convergent evolution. Sandgrouse were later placed near the Columbiformes largely due to their reported ability to drink by the "sucking" or "pumping" action of peristalsis of the esophagus. The only other group, however, which shows the same behavior, the Pteroclidae, is placed near the doves just by this doubtless very old characteristic.^[4] More recently, it has been reported that they cannot suck up water in this way,^[5] and they are now treated separately in the order Pteroclidiformes. They have been considered near passerine birds and are considered by some to be closer to the shorebirds.^[6] In the DNA-study by Fain and Houde (2004) ^[7] they were included in the Metaves, together with the Columbiformes. In the larger study by Hackett et al. (2008)^[8] they were once again positioned close to the Columbiformes but also the Mesites. The intricately-patterned, precocial downy young and egg colouration (though not shape) closely resemble those of many Charadriiformes. Eggs are near elliptical.

Species[link]

Sandgrouse
Common and binomial names [9]	Image	Description, range and status	Egg
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata (Linnaeus, 1766)		Length 31 to 39 centimetres (12 to 15 in) P. alchata - Spain, Portugal, France, north west Africa P. a. caudacutus - Middle East, Turkey and eastward to Kazakhstan Status: Least concern
Double-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles bicinctus Temminck, 1815		Length 31 to 39 centimetres (12 to 15 in) Central and southern Africa Status: Least concern
Burchell's Sandgrouse Pterocles burchelli Sclater, 1922		Central and southern Africa Status: Least concern
Crowned Sandgrouse Pterocles coronatus Lichtenstein, 1823		North Africa and West Asia Status: Least concern
Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus Cabanis, 1868		Central Africa Status: Least concern
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus Temminck, 1825		Northern and central Africa, central Asia Status: Least concern
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse Pterocles gutturalis Smith, 1836		Africa Status: Least concern
Painted Sandgrouse Pterocles indicus Cabanis, 1868		South Africa Status: Least concern
Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii Temminck, 1825		Africa, Middle East and Afghanistan Status: Least concern
Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua (Gmelin, 1789)		Length 31 to 39 centimetres (12 to 15 in) Central and South Africa Status: Least concern
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis (Linnaeus, 1758)		Length 33 to 39 centimetres (13 to 15 in) P. orientalis - Northwest Africa, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Middle East, Turkey and Iran P. o. arenarius - Kazakhstan, Pakistan and western China Status: Least concern
Madagascar Sandgrouse Pterocles personatus Gould, 1843		Madagascar Status: Least concern
Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus (Temminck, 1815)		Length 25 to 28 centimetres (9.8 to 11 in) Central Africa Status: Least concern
Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus (Linnaeus, 1771)		Length 33 centimetres (13 in) Northern Africa, Middle East and western Asia Status: Least concern
Tibetan Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes tibetanus (Gould, 1850)		Length 30 to 41 centimetres (12 to 16 in) Mountains of Central Asia, Tibet and Central China Status: Least concern
Pallas's Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes paradoxus (Pallas, 1773)		Length 30 to 41 centimetres (12 to 16 in) Mountains and steppes of Central Asia Status: Least concern

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pteroclidiformes

• Sandgrouse videos on the Internet Bird Collection