Burchell’s Sandgrouse

     The Burchell’s Sandgrouse is a bird in the Sandgrouse family, that is found in arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa. This bird is named after the English naturalist William John Burchell.

     The male Burchell’s sandgrouse has bare yellow skin that surrounds his eyes, and pale-grey cheeks and throat. The body is of a light-brown color, mottled with white speckles and darker shades of brown. Female Burchell’s sandgrouse are similar in appearance to male birds, but are paler, and have more white speckles on the breast. Also, their heads and cheeks are of a creamy color instead of grey.

     Egg-laying season of the Burchell’s Sandgrouse is in the dry winter months, from April to October. The female lays 3 eggs, rarely 2 eggs, in a shallow depression in the ground often concealed among grass tussocks or under a bush. Both parents incubate the eggs and do all the parental care, till the chicks become independant. There are two subspecies for the Burchell’s Sandgrouse that are found across the bird’s distribution range, and bear slight differences.