Pallas's Sandgrouse
Syrrhaptes paradoxus
An unusual bird of dry plains and grasslands that looks like a cross between a dove and a grouse. Both sexes have a long, needle-thin tail, a rectangular black belly patch, and overall sandy-brown plumage. The male sports an orange-and-gray face and a pink tinge to his wings and back. The female is browner, with heavy speckling on the neck and nape. Flies in flocks, often gathering in groups of up to thousands strong at reliable waterholes.
Identification
Pallas's sandgrouse is 30–41 cm (12–16 in) long with small, pigeon-like head and neck, but sturdy compact body. It has long pointed wings and tail and legs and toes are feathered. Its plumage is buff-coloured, barred above with a black belly patch and pale underwings. The black belly and pale underwing distinguish this species from the related Tibetan sandgrouse. The male Pallas's sandgrouse is distinguished by its grey head and breast, orange face and grey breast band. The female has duller plumage and lacks the breast band though it has more barring on the upperparts.<p>The small feet lack a hind toe, and the three front toes are fused together. The upper surface is feathered, and the underneath has a fleshy pad. The appearance of the foot is more like a paw than an avian foot.
Taxonomy
Genus: Syrrhaptes; Family: Pteroclidae; Order: Pterocliformes.
- Scientific name
- Syrrhaptes paradoxus
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1773)
- Order
- Pterocliformes
- Family
- Pteroclidae
- Genus
- Syrrhaptes
Range and habitat
This species breeds across middle latitudes of central Asia on dry steppes and similar habitats. Its nest is a ground scrape into which 2–3 greenish eggs with cryptic markings are laid.<p>It is a partial migrant, especially from the northern parts of its range in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, but the extent and distance of the southerly winter movement depends on the amount of snowfall.<p>Pallas's sandgrouse occasionally irrupts from its regular breeding and wintering range as a vagrant across Europe as far west as Great Britain, where it has bred, and Ireland. The reasons for these remarkable movements are not fully understood, but they have become less frequent, probably due to contraction of the western Siberian range as the steppes become more agricultural.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Dicrurus annectens
Large dark drongo of open forested environments. Glossy black with a characteristically forked tail. Immature speckled with grayish-white on lower breast and belly. Thick dark bill gives a generally heavier-headed appearance than other similar dark drongos such as Black Drongo, with which it shares parts of its range; also prefers more forested environments than the latter. Aggressive and territorial, particularly during the breeding season, frequently mobbing raptors and corvids with great vigor. Like other drongos, boasts a varied repertoire; songs include a ringing “tsee-goo-gohgee!” Calls include bell-like gurgling notes, harsh chattering, and piercing whistles.
Red Kite
Milvus milvus
Distinctive large, graceful raptor with a fairly long, forked, rusty-orange tail. Flies with easy languid wingbeats and lazy glides, circling gracefully over fields and roadsides. Can be confused with Black Kite; note overall more reddish coloration, paler face, larger white patches on the underwings, and more deeply forked tail. Inhabits varied semiopen habitats, from woodland to farmland and moorland with hedges and wooded patches; locally in urban areas. Often scavenges with crows.
Blue-billed Malimbe
Malimbus nitens
A distinctive malimbe of lowland forests, particularly favoring lowland swamps with palms and areas near water, often in the understory. Overall glossy black with a triangular red throat patch and a pale gray-blue bill. Occurs in small groups or with mixed-species flocks, sometimes with other species of malimbe. The only malimbe with a combination of entirely dark upperparts, red throat, and black vent. Song includes whistled and mechanical notes with rasps, and calls include short rasping “rhewp” notes.
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