Family Sandgrouse (Pteroclidae)
Least Concern
Spotted Sandgrouse (Pterocles senegallus)
Taxonomy
French: Ganga tacheté German: Tropfenflughuhn Spanish: Ganga moteada
Taxonomy:
Tetrao senegallus
Linnaeus
, 1771,Senegal; error = Algeria
.Distribution:
S Morocco, Western Sahara and N Mauritania E locally through Sahara Desert (S to N Mali) to Egypt, Eritrea and N Somalia, and Levant, Arabian Peninsula and S Iraq E to SW Afghanistan, S Pakistan and NW India (W Rajasthan, occurring in Thar Desert).
Descriptive notes
30–35 cm; c. 250–340 g; wingspan 53–65 cm. Only sandgrouse with elongated central rectrices lacking colour separation on breast; diagnostic longitudinal... read more
Voice
Flight call a loud double-noted “whik!-kaaw” (the first note over-slurred, second downslurred),... read more
Habitat
Sparsely vegetated semi-desert and desert, with patches of vegetation; drinking water is required... read more
Food and feeding
Consumes primarily small, hard seeds; apparently shows distinct preference for certain plants, e.g. Euphorbia guyoniana and ... read more
Breeding
Laying Mar–Jul. Nest is scrape or natural depression on ground; typically hoof-marks in Iraq, or near a stone in E Morocco. Usually 3... read more
Movements
Perhaps mostly sedentary and nomadic; wintering reported for areas of Morocco and Algeria (Oct... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Widespread and frequent to common throughout most of extensive range. Patchily distributed in Morocco; uncommon in Arabian Peninsula. Common resident... read more
Relationships uncertain; plumage characters suggest that it is closest to P. exustus. Population in extreme E of range (India) formerly separated as race remotus. Monotypic.