Spotted Sandgrouse

     The Spotted Sandgrouse is a species of Sandgrouse, which inhabits deserts and semi-arid countryside. It’s found mainly in northern and eastern Africa, across the Middle East, and parts of Asia as far east as northwest India.

     The male Spotted sandgrouse has pinkish-grey upperparts, with dark flight feathers, and dark patches on his wings, tail and lower belly. His chin, neck and throat are orange in color, while the breast and the crown are grey. The primaries of the male Spotted sandgrouse are pale-brown with dark trailing edges, a fact that distinguishes this species from the Crowned Sandgrouse which has completely dark primaries. The female also has an orange throat region, but she is generally duller in plumage than the male, with small dark spots and markings on the wings, tail and lower belly. Central tail feathers in both sexes of the Spotted sandgrouse are elongated too, but not as long as those of the Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse.

     The Spotted sandgrouse usually breeds in the hottest part of the summer on a stony desert plain. The female lays 2 – 3 eggs in a shallow depression in the ground without any bedding material. Both Spotted sandgrouse parents incubate the eggs for about 20 days and the chicks fledge after additional 4 – 5 weeks.