The crowned sandgrouse (''Pterocles coronatus'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the sandgrouse family, the
Pteroclidae
Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the othe ...
from
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
.
Description
A fairly small sandgrouse which appears rather uniformly coloured from a distance except for darker flight feathers, the wholly dark flight feathers being the best feature to identify crowned sandgrouse from the similar
spotted sandgrouse
The spotted sandgrouse (''Pterocles senegallus'') is a species of ground dwelling bird in the family Pteroclidae. It is found in arid regions of northern and eastern Africa and across the Middle East and parts of Asia as far east as northwest I ...
. The dark flight feathers contrast with the sandy upper wing coverts and the creamy underwing coverts. The adult male has a black mask and lacks any grey tones on the neck and breast. The females and immatures lack the black mask and differ from spotted sandgrouse in having dark vermiculations, rather than spots, across the breast and all of the belly and not confined to the breast and upper belly as in spotted sandgrouse. They are 27–29 cm long and have a wingspan of 52–63 cm.
Distribution
The crowned sandgrouse occurs in North Africa and south Asia and is found from
Mauritania in the west through the Middle East to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
Habitat
The crowned sandgrouse is a bird of deserts, preferring stony deserts rather than sandy ones.
In North Africa breeds among dark red sandstone which matches its plumage colour. Avoids areas with too much vegetation.
Habits
The crowned sandgrouse is rather nomadic in the dry season and is recorded away from areas where breeding is known. For example, it is scarce in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
north of 32°N but is frequent at
Wadi Caam in the dry season of June to September. It is gregarious outside the breeding season, especially when visiting water resources which it flies to in early and mid morning and again towards sunset. It mainly feeds on hard seeds but also feeds on shoots of grass and other plants.
[
The nest is a shallow depression on open ground and has no lining, although there may be a circle of stomes around the nest as the birds move any small stomes within the depression to the rim when they start laying. Clutch is 2-3 eggs which are incubated for just over three weeks and the chicks fledge in 24–28 days.][
]
Taxonomy
Previously the crowned sandgroupse was included in genus ''Eremialector'' and recent studies suggest that it is part of a clade that also includes the yellow-throated sandgrouse
The yellow-throated sandgrouse (''Pterocles gutturalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pteroclidae.
Range
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe ( ...
''P. gutturalis'' and the Madagascar sandgrouse ''P. personatus''; and these may form a group along with the two '' Syrrhaptes'' species, black-bellied sandgrouse ''P. orientalis'', Namaqua sandgrouse
The Namaqua sandgrouse (''Pterocles namaqua''), is a species of ground-dwelling bird in the sandgrouse family. It is found in arid regions of south-western Africa.
Taxonomy
The Namaqua sandgrouse was formally described in 1789 by the German na ...
''P. namaqua'' and chestnut-bellied sandgrouse ''P. exustus'', and possibly including also P. alchata and P. burchelli; further study is required.[
Five subspecies are currently recognised:][
*''Pterocles coronatus coronatus'' M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1823: ]Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
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from southern Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania east to north central Sudan and the Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
coast.
*''Pterocles coronatus vastitas'' R. Meinertzhagen, 1928 – Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
and neighbouring areas of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
.
*''Pterocles coronatus saturatus'' Kinnear, 1927 –the hilly country of interior Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
.
*''Pterocles coronatus atratus'' E. J. O. Hartert, 1902 – Southern Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
(except interior Oman) and southern Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
east to south-western Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
*''Pterocles coronatus ladas'' Koelz, 1954 – Sind
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
.
References
External links
Recordings of crowned sandgrouse at Xeno-Canto
{{Taxonbar, from=Q127886
Pterocles
Birds of the Middle East
Birds of North Africa
Taxa named by Hinrich Lichtenstein
Birds described in 1823
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot