Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua Scientific name definitions

c. 28 cm; male c. 170–190 g, female c. 150–190 g. Small sandgrouse; like P. senegallus, combines long tail and dark underparts with pale underwing. Male has white and chestnut pectoral band , and brown belly that fades towards the rear; head without distinctive marks; bill greyish; orbital ring yellow. Female extensively mottled above; has uniformly barred underparts. Juvenile  similar to adult, but more cryptically coloured; male with barred head and back.

SW Angola and Namibia E to SW Zimbabwe, and S through Botswana and W & C South Africa (W Limpopo and Free State S to S Western Cape).

Sub-desert and fringes of desert, in a variety of habitats; commoner in flat or rolling country with short, thin grass and scattered shrubs and succulent plants; also found in more heavily wooded dry savannas.

Sedentary and locally nomadic; southern populations migratory, those breeding in Karoo moving N to N Cape, Botswana and Namibia.

Eats small, dry seeds, showing a strong preference for certain plants, notably Tephrosia dregeana (Leguminosae) and Cleome (Capparidaceae) in the Namib, or Lophiocarpus burchelli (Chenopodiaceae) in the Kalahari; fragments of insects and molluscs perhaps ingested by chance or as grit. Species drinks  in the morning, c. 08:00–10:00 hours, some birds also in late afternoon.

Flight call a trisyllabic nasal yelping “kwel-kee-weeen” and similar variations. In group, birds call simultaneously, resulting in a constant nasal gull-like squabbling. Other calls include a series of sharp “quip” notes on take-off, a “ki-kiii” in alarm, a high-pitched call used in nest distraction by both sexes and a softly repeated “quip” to summon chicks (2 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Period is extended, probably dependent on rainfall: in S Africa in general, all months except Mar and May, with peaks during cooler months Aug–Nov; in Kalahari, after rains, mainly Jul–Nov; in S Cape Province, as an exception, during spring and summer, probably to avoid winter rains. Nest is simple scrape in bare soil or among stones, grass tufts or scrub; often breeds in small, loose colonies, with nests as close together as 22 m. Usually three eggs, average 2·9; incubation c. 21 days; male incubates at night, from 14 hours per day (in summer) to 18 hours (in winter), but female rarely sits for more than c. 10 hours; chick has yellowish-brown down marbled creamy whitish; young half-grown and fully feathered at three weeks, capable fliers at c. 6 weeks. Of 69 eggs in 21 clutches, 68% hatched; average of perhaps 1·3 young fledged per breeding pair.

Not globally threatened. Common to locally abundant in much of range. Usually occurs in pairs or small parties, but sometimes in fairly large flocks. Now absent from former range in Orange Free State and Lesotho; less common in recent times in Transvaal, where occurrence of species is nowhere predictable or regular.