Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Alleghedi Plain, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image

Alleghedi Plain, Ethiopia
January 2016

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse is distributed from Senegal in West Africa in a band across to Somalia, Egypt and around the Arabian Peninsula and into the Indian subcontinent. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is usually found in semi-desert areas and dry bushland up to 1,500 metres where it feeds mainly on seeds. It feeds in the cool of the morning and evening while it tends to drink in the early morning.

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Alleghedi Plain, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image The male has a golden-yellow head and a thin black breast band (rear bird in photo 1) while the female (front bird in photo 1 and in photo 2) is more mottled above with a black-spotted breast. In flight, the dark underwing distinguishes it from other sandgrouse species.
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Alleghedi Plain, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image
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