Madagascar Sandgrouse
Pterocles personatus
Brownish bird that is shaped like a large dove. Male has a black front and plain wing with three black bars; female has fine black markings across the back. Long pointed wings power high direct flight. Found in dry, open habitats in western Madagascar, at low and middle elevations. Feeds in open fields, and makes long flights every day to traditional drinking spots, which are often visited with great punctuality. Call is an odd dry chuckling, given frequently in flight.
Identification
The Madagascar sandgrouse is a plump bird with a short tail and legs and is easy to identify because both sexes have black underwings and it is the only sandgrouse found in Madagascar. The adult male has a brown head with a distinctive black area surrounding the beak and a yellow ring of bare skin around the eye. The mantle, back and rump are blackish-brown speckled with buff. The flight feathers and main tail feathers are blackish-brown, the upper wing coverts being buff and the tail being barred and tipped with buff. The cheeks, sides of neck and upper breast are ochreous to pinkish buff, fading to white on the chin and throat. The lower breast is narrowly barred in dark brown and buff and this barring continues to the belly which is darker and more tawny brown. The beak is whitish, the eye brown and the legs grey.<p>The adult female lacks the black round the beak, instead having a blackish-brown crown and nape streaked with buff, and blackish-brown upper parts, narrowly barred and spotted with buff. The tail is blackish-brown, barred and tipped with buff. The breast is pinkish-buff with dark barring at the sides and the belly is similar to that of the male. The juvenile resembles the female but the barring is more brown than black and the general colouring is more muted.
Taxonomy
Genus: Pterocles; Family: Pteroclidae; Order: Pterocliformes.
- Scientific name
- Pterocles personatus
- Authority
- Gould, 1843
- Order
- Pterocliformes
- Family
- Pteroclidae
- Genus
- Pterocles
Range and habitat
The Madagascar sandgrouse is endemic to the island of Madagascar where it is found in the drier southern and western part of the country. Its habitat is dry open areas of mainly level ground with grasses and sparse vegetation, and includes the spiny forests of the southeastern part of the island. It visits water each day and can then be seen on stony river and lakeside areas and on sandbars.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Aegithina viridissima
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