Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis

Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis

Black-crowned Sandgrouse, near Boumalne du Dades, Morocco, April 2014 - click for larger image

Morocco and Spain

The Black-bellied Sandgrouse is distributed in the Iberian Peninsula, north-west Africa from Morocco to Libya and from Turkey to north-west China and south to Afghanistan and south-west Pakistan. See the distribution map at xeno-canto. It is found in steppe and semi-arid habitats generally cooler and less arid than the habitat for most other Sandgrouse species.

It is distinguished by the large black patch on the belly and a fine black band across the lower breast. The female is duller and more cryptic than the male shown here in photos 1 and 2.

Black-crowned Sandgrouse, La Cumbre, Extremadura, Spain, May 2022 - click for larger image

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