Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii Scientific name definitions

22–26 cm (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); male c. 175–250 g, female c. 190–230 g (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); wingspan 48–52 cm. As P. quadricinctus, P. bicinctus and P. indicus, small, round-tailed, densely barred/vermiculated in both sexes, male with bands on breast and black-and-white ­pattern on forehead. Differs by having vermiculations also on neck and upper chest of males and throat of females . Male, yellowish breast patch, dull-red bill and yellow orbital ring. Female is only slightly duller than male, but has forehead and face yellow-buff, crown and neck more strongly spotted, and breastband reduced to narrow yellow-buff line, or completely absent (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile, female-like, even more densely barred both above and below, with finer speckling on throat and buff-fringes and tips to primaries, but by first winter is largely adult-like, although young male usually has duller breastbands and may lack forehead bands (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Subspecies differ in general colour tones and relative width of underparts barring: race <em>targius</em> is less rufous than nominate with more yellowish-buff upperparts; race <em>sukensis</em> is darkest overall, with heavier black barring than nominate, particularly on wings and underparts; race ingramsi is overall the palest subspecies, with the least dense upperparts and belly barring of any race, more brown and buff on wing-coverts, more extensive yellowish-buff breast and forehead bands broader; and race arabicus is overall darker and more barred than ingramsii, but rather paler than any of the other three subspecies (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Deserts, semi-deserts and arid bushveld in rocky and scrubby areas, as wooded dry wadis and bare stony hillsides, often within mountain massifs as Aïr, Hoggar, Ennedi and Tibesti in Sahara; prefers Acacia shrubs and thorn-scrub trees, mostly A. sayal in Africa; avoids flat open desert and cultivated areas. Recorded to 1800 m in E Africa (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Sedentary, perhaps nomadic in places, e.g. in Morocco, where sometimes reported from Saharan regions during the dry season (3 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ). No records from Eritrea and Ethiopia between May and Aug, perhaps suggesting movements in this region too (4 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Considered a vagrant to N Senegal (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Predominantly seeds, perhaps mostly of Acacia (Leguminosae), e.g. perhaps exclusively on A. ehrenbergiana during breeding season in Morocco (3 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ), but also Asphodelus tenuifolis, Cassia, Plantago (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Prosopia, Reseda (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Salsola and other plants, including flowers and leaves of Mesembryanthemum (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Also takes some insects (beetles, ants, ant-lions) and their larvae (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sometimes feeds in small parties (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Mainly active by night, drinks after sunset and just before sunrise, although also recorded drinking by day during total solar eclipse (smaller numbers than usual visited same site that evening) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In Israel, smaller numbers visit regular watering sites in Oct–Feb than during the rest of year, presumably due to reduced requirements during these cooler months (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Rarely vocalizes during day (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Gives repeated, liquid “wheet-wheet-wheet” or “quitoo” in flight, which is more grating and lower-pitched than other sandgrouse in geographical range (flocks in chorus sound wheezy and tinkly) (5 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), and utters similarly musical and chattering notes, e.g, shrill, forced “squilp” when visiting water (5 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); a guttural “krerwerwerwer” if flushed and a dry croaking “krre-krre-krre-krre” when alarmed (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Eggs, Feb–Sept, mostly May–Jul, but once Jan in Ethiopia (4 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); in Morocco, mainly nests mid-Mar to mid-Jun, sometimes with second clutch in Sept if rains occur in Aug (3 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ). Sometimes fails to nest in very dry years (3 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ). Nest, scrape on ground, typically among scattered trees or rocks, in the open or under low shrub, and appears to prefer hillsides on which to nest, over level ground (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sometimes nests in close proximity to habitation or to other pairs (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Clutch 2–3 eggs, pinkish to buff marked reddish brown or purplish grey (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Male incubates by night and is probably also responsible for watering young and chick care (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Downy chick, which is precocial and nidifugous, described as markedly uniform warm donkey brown, slightly paler in underparts. Incubation and fledging periods unknown (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nest predation reported to be heavy in Kenya (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Usually in pairs or small parties of up to c. 30 birds (3 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ), although flocks of up to 300 observed in Oman (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and 200 in Ethiopia (4 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sparsely distributed, but extensive range and often frequent to locally common. Very localised in far S Morocco, S of Jbel Bani; apparently limited to Hoggar and Tassili in Algeria; common in Adrar des Ifoghas, Mali; reportedly abundant in N Chad, especially at Tibesti and Ennedi. Locally common in SE Egypt (perhaps 100–1000 pairs throughout country) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); scarce in E Sinai, but near neighbouring Eilat, Israel, where 50–100 pairs estimated in 1980s, species is apparently spreading and increasing in response to development of kibbutzim and greater number of available waterholes (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); uncommon and local in Sudan; uncommon to frequent in Ethiopia ; scattered and often uncommon in Kenya. Fairly common in the United Arab Emirates. Locally frequent in Pakistan, but no evidence for presence in NW Pakistan, NW India or S Afghanistan, all of which areas are frequently included within species’ range (5 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).