Overview
Burchell's sandgrouse is a plump bird about the size of a pigeon with a small head and short legs. The eye is surrounded by bare yellow skin, the cheeks and throat are pale grey and the body is light brown, mottled with darker shades and white speckles.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Pteroclididae
- Genus
- Pterocles
- Species
- burchelli
Habitat
It is found in arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa. It frequents areas of rough grass and scrub, especially on red Kalahari sand and has been able to extend its range because of the greater availability of water after the sinking of boreholes by farmers.
Diet
Seeds and insects.
Behavior
Burchell's sandgrouse is monogamous and breeds during the dry season between April and October. The nest is formed in a shallow depression in the ground often concealed among grass tussocks or under a bush. It is lined with a few fragments of dry vegetation and two or usually three eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs and the chicks are precocial when they hatch, covered in down and soon able to run after the adult birds. Both parents care for the young and, as in other sandgrouse species, water is brought to them absorbed in the specially adapted feathers that line the parents' breasts.
Hunting
Hunted across its range.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.