Scientific name: Pterocles alchata (Linnaeus, 1766)
Bird group: Sandgrouses
Field characters. 31 cm. Best distinguished from Black-bellied Sandgrouse by white belly and underwings in both sexes, and long tail streamers in male. Male has chestnut face, black line through eye, black chin, greenish upper chest, black lower chest with chestnut border, and green upperparts. Female has a sand-coloured face and chest, with three black lines on chest, and black-speckled upperparts. Flight fast and pigeon-like; on the ground resembles pigeon or partridge. Gathers in large flocks at drinking places at dusk. Found in pairs during breeding season, but in large flocks in winter.
Voice. A loud 'catar catar', giving the impression of a flock of Barnacle Geese at a distance.
Distribution. Scarce; in the south-west of the region only. Resident.
Habitat. Inhabits dry steppe-like areas, often near cultivation. Avoids open desert.
Food. Mainly seeds and sometimes small green plants; occasionally beetles.