Black-faced Sandgrouse

About the Black-faced Sandgrouse

The black-faced sandgrouse (Pterocles decoratus) is a species of ground-dwelling bird in the Pteroclidae family. It is a mainly sedentary bird found in East Africa, ranging from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is a medium-sized bird which is well-adapted and well-camouflaged to life in arid environments. It is a dove-like bird due to its physical resemblance, particularly its small head, short legs, and pointed wings. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.

The black-faced sandgrouse is a medium-sized bird approximately 28 cm (11 in) long and weighing between 140 and 210 g (4.9 and 7.4 oz). Overall, it has a small and compact body, with a short tail, pointed wings, as well as short and feathered legs. The wing tips are black when in flight.

As its name suggests, the male is easily recognizable with black face markings extending from the forehead down to the throat. The male is also characterized by a black and a white eyebrow stripe above the eye, a pinkish-orange bill, and a yellow eye-ring contrasting against its black facial colour. The chest is a pale brown with a thin bold black stripe followed by a thick white stripe on the breast... Wikipedia →