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.

识别特征

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.

分类信息

学名
Syrrhaptes paradoxus
命名信息
(Pallas, 1773)
Pterocliformes
Pteroclidae
Syrrhaptes

分布与栖息地

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.

迁徙
Complete migrants

保护状况

种群趋势
stable

照片

分布

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Pallas's Sandgrouse | 鸟镜