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PLATE 60: SANDGROUSE
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus RB, WV
L: 32. W: 50. In fast flight shows diagnostic all-dark underwing continuous with dark chestnut
belly. Female shows black-spotted breast and narrowly vermiculated blackish upperparts; male has
golden wings with some dark barring; both sexes show elongated tail and narrow black bar on
lower breast. Juvenile smaller, with reduced area of dark on belly, which can often be difficult
to see. Voice Far-carrying, short, rather guttural but liquid kwit-kwit-kwituroh-kwituroh-kwituroh or
gattar-gattar; also ke-rep, kerep with stress on last syllable. Habitat Sand and gravel semi-deserts,
though often near agricultural land; also coastal dunes, inshore islands. Visits water to drink in large
flocks in early to mid-morning. Note Nomadic; winter dispersal hatched; vagrant Kuwait.Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus RB
L: 32. W: 59. A pale sandgrouse with a long pointed tail; in flight shows rather pale upperwing
including primaries with indistinct dark rear border; underwing pale with contrasting dark flight
feathers (especially secondaries) which separates from Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. Bold spots
on upperparts and breast in female, confined to wing-coverts and shoulder in male. Flocks,
often large, visiting water-holes in morning; individuals occasionally join Chestnut-bellied flocks.
Voice In flight, a disyllabic bubbling whistle, frequently repeated: wi-dow, first syllable higher.
Habitat Mainly sandy deserts; also semi-deserts with sparse vegetation or scrub. Note Mainly
resident. Vagrant UAE.Crowned Sandgrouse Pterocles coronatus RB
L: 28. W: 57. Rather pale with short tail. Male has yellowish head and neck, and diagnostic black
mask on forehead and around bill base. Female sandy, finely vermiculated; head, neck and throat
unmarked yellowish. In flight, black flight feathers contrast with sandy-grey upperparts and
wing-coverts (unlike Spotted Sandgrouse); underwing-coverts white. Distinguished from Spotted
Sandgrouse by short tail, which is white-tipped (noticeable when tail spread on landing) and
distinctive upperwing pattern; Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse is more barred and lacks yellowish on
head. Comes to water mainly in morning. Two subspecies occur in Arabia: atratus in sand desert and
saturatus in the foothills of the Hajar mountains, Oman. Voice Frequently calls in flight on way to or
from water: hard, accelerated, nasal kaaa-kata-kata-kataah, rendered as ‘gebäcked potato’. Habitat
Stony and semi-deserts. Note Mainly resident. Historical reports, but no recent records, in UAE.Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii RB
L: 25. W: 50. Small with short square-ended tail. Yellowish-buff plumage finely vermiculated black
and white all over. Male has yellowish breast-patch framed by two black bars; bill orange, white
forehead with vertical black bars. Female duller, lacking distinct markings on head and breast;
lacks yellow throat of similar Crowned Sandgrouse. In flight, upperwings show black flight feathers
and pale wing-coverts, underwing pale with slightly darker flight feathers. Singles or small parties
drink at dusk or before dawn. Active by night, when calls frequently in flight. Voice Call, when
coming to drink, is a repeated disyllabic, melodic whee-ak, with stress on first syllable; when flushed
a harsh, whirring arrk; at night, in flight, a clear liquid whit, wheet, wheeoo. Habitat Rocky deserts,
arid mountains, wadis and hillsides with sparse scrub. Note Resident, but avoids Empty Quarter.Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata V
L: 35. W: 60. Large, plump sandgrouse, with long tapering tail. In flight, white underparts contrast
sharply with black primaries and chestnut-buff breast-band (male) bordered narrowly with
black; female has pale golden-yellow breast-band with three black bars. Male has black throat and
eye-stripe and spotted grey-green upperparts; female duller, mottled and barred above. Gregarious,
often in large noisy flocks. Voice Call in flight a distinctive, repeated, slightly falling arrrh, arrrh or
shorter arrk-arrk-arrk-. Habitat Dry plains and stony semi-deserts, fields. Note Nomadic or partial
migrant as hatched; introduced UAE, vagrant Oman.