Pterocles
Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Pin-tailed sandgrouse Pterocles alchata North Africa and the Middle East , Turkey , Iran , Iraq and Kazakhstan , Spain , Portugal
Namaqua sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua Angola , Namibia , Zimbabwe , Botswana , Lesotho and South Africa
Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse Pterocles exustus central and northern Africa , and southern Asia
Spotted sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , Libya , Sudan , Egypt , Eritrea , Somalia , Ethiopia , Djibouti , Mali , Mauritania , Chad and Niger
Black-bellied sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis Iberia , northwest Africa , the Canary Islands , Turkey , Iran , Cyprus and Israel
Crowned sandgrouse Pterocles coronatus North Africa and the Middle East
Yellow-throated sandgrouse Pterocles gutturalis Angola , Botswana , Eritrea , Ethiopia , Kenya , Namibia , South Africa , Tanzania , Zambia , and Zimbabwe
Burchell 's sandgrouse Pterocles burchelli Angola , Namibia , Botswana , Zambia , Zimbabwe and South Africa
Madagascan sandgrouse Pterocles personatus Madagascar
Black-faced sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus Ethiopia , Kenya , Somalia , Tanzania , and Uganda
Lichtenstein 's sandgrouse Pterocles lichtensteinii Algeria , Chad , Djibouti , Egypt , Eritrea , Ethiopia , Libya , Mali , Mauritania , Morocco , Niger , Senegal , Somalia , Sudan , Uganda , Iran , Iraq , Jordan , Oman , Pakistan , Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Israel , the United Arab Emirates and Yemen
Double-banded sandgrouse Pterocles bicinctus southern Africa
Painted sandgrouse Pterocles indicus Bangladesh , India and Pakistan
Four-banded sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus Africa from Mauritania and Cameroon east to Sudan and Uganda
Species in taxonomic order
Pterocles is a genus of near passerine birds in the sandgrouse family. It includes all the species in the family except for two central Asian species in Syrrhaptes
These sandgrouse have small, pigeon-like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails. Their legs are feathered down to the toes, but unlike Syrrhaptes the toes are not feathered. Pterocles sandgrouse have a fast direct flight, and flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Two to three eggs are laid directly on the ground. They are buff or greenish with cryptic markings. All species are resident.