Family Sandgrouse (Pteroclidae)
Least Concern
Pallas's Sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus)
Taxonomy
French: Syrrhapte paradoxal German: Steppenflughuhn Spanish: Ganga de Pallas
Taxonomy:
Tetrao paradoxa
Pallas
, 1773,southern Tartarian Desert
.Distribution:
Mostly between 40° N and 50° N, from Kazakhstan (extreme S Ural Mts) and N Uzbekistan E through extreme S Siberia and Mongolia to NC China (Gansu), S to NW & WC China (Xinjiang; Kunlun Shan and Qaidam Basin, in Qinghai); sporadically E to Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang (NE China). Recorded as wintering in Nanning area of Guanxi, in S China#R.
Descriptive notes
27–41 cm; male c. 250–300 g, female c. 200–260 g; wingspan 60–78 cm. Front toes feathered, hind toe lacking; long, pin-like central tail feathers;... read more
Voice
Commonest calls in flight a repeated, single, abrupt and over-slurred nasal “chup” or “pup”, and... read more
Habitat
Steppe and semi-desert, with low, sparse vegetation of grasses or shrubs (Artemisia... read more
Food and feeding
Takes seeds and also some green shoots of many different plants including Leguminosae, Polygonaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cruciferae and... read more
Breeding
Laying from mid Apr to Jun. Nests on ground, sometimes sheltered by bush or grasses; often close to other pairs, with nests only 4–6... read more
Movements
Partially migratory; northern areas abandoned for winter, from Sept/Oct to Mar/Apr; extent of... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Extensive range and remote, sparsely populated habitat probably make present species relatively safe. Somewhat sporadic in occurrence... read more
Closely related to S. tibetanus. Monotypic.