Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

Spit Sandgrouse subspecies Pterocles alchata caudacutus

The spit Sandgrouse ( Pterocles alchata ) is about 37 cm long and reaches a wingspan up to 65 cm. The belly and tail tip are white.

Habitat

The spit Sandgrouse occur in semi-deserts and dry steppes. These are particularly suitable if they include sandy tracts of land or dunes. The habitat of the animals but decreases constantly. For wintering this type flies to the northern edge of the Sahara.

Reproduction

The birds breed from the first half of May until well into July. The nest, which usually consists of three rare but also of two eggs is laid without a mat in the shade of a bush. The male incubates through the night and in the late morning / early afternoon then takes over the female. Often the animals find the breeding season to loose colonies together. See the young animals at the beginning of the chicks as the plover. They get their food from the beginning itself, but are still supplied with drinking water by the adult birds. After three to four weeks, the young are fledged.

Food

The food is mainly composed of grains that are found on the ground. Since their food is very dry, they need plenty of water and therefore fly several times a day for their drinking, which can be up to 50 km from the breeding site. They dip their feathers in the water and fly back. There, the young birds leave the wet feathers through its beak.