Painted Sandgrouse Pterocles indicus Scientific name definitions
- LC Least Concern
- Names (21)
- Monotypic
Text last updated January 1, 1997
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Species names in all available languages
Language | Common name |
---|---|
Bulgarian | Индийска пустинарка |
Catalan | ganga de l'Índia |
Czech | stepokur indický |
Danish | Indisk Sandhøne |
Dutch | Indisch Zandhoen |
English | Painted Sandgrouse |
English (United States) | Painted Sandgrouse |
French | Ganga indien |
French (France) | Ganga indien |
German | Bindenflughuhn |
Japanese | サザナミサケイ |
Norwegian | indiasandhøne |
Polish | stepówka indyjska |
Russian | Индийский рябок |
Serbian | Šarena sadža |
Slovak | stepiar ozdobný |
Spanish | Ganga India |
Spanish (Spain) | Ganga india |
Swedish | indisk flyghöna |
Turkish | Hint Bağırtlağı |
Ukrainian | Рябок індійський |
Pterocles indicus (Gmelin, 1789)
Definitions
- PTEROCLES
- pterocles
- indicus
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Field Identification
28 cm; c. 170–227 g. As P. lichtensteinii, P. quadricinctus and P. bicinctus, small, densely barred , with short tail and black and white pattern on head of males . Very similar to P. quadricinctus, male with characteristic design on wing-coverts; female also with breast and neck heavily barred. Male differs from P. bicinctus by chestnut bar within pectoral band ; female has dorsal marks more straight, not crescent-shaped, and darker belly. Bill orange-brown ; orbital ring yellow . Juvenile similar to adult female, even more densely streaked and barred.
Systematics History
Subspecies
Distribution
NE Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) E to N India (N Haryana District) and from Gujarat E to West Bengal and Odisha, S through peninsula to Tamil Nadu.
Habitat
Bare foothills and plateaux, sparsely covered with scrub or thorn bushes (Acacia, Capparis, Ziziphus); also in more forested country, at rocky ground , firelines and burnt areas; avoids coastal tracts.
Movement
Sedentary, perhaps locally nomadic. Tends to concentrate in some areas near the end of the rains.
Diet and Foraging
Seeds, some shoots and apparently termites in certain seasons. Drinks after dusk.
Sounds and Vocal Behavior
Flight call a rapid sequence of 2–4 staccato gravelly notes, with emphasis on the last one “dji-dji-chik!” or “wi-chik!”, repeated at intervals.
Breeding
Perhaps mostly Apr–May-Jun, but scattered records in all other months except Jul and Sep. Scrape among stones and earth, with little or no lining; commonly shaded by bush, tree or boulder. Clutch, usually 3 eggs, sometimes 2. Incubation period, estimated 21–23 days. Downy chick described as uniform earthy brown.
Conservation Status
Not globally threatened. Moderately common in parts of India; rather rare and local, but locally frequent in Pakistan. Usually in pairs or small groups.