Black-faced Sandgrouse vs Burchell's Sandgrouse

Black-faced Sandgrouse

Pterocles decoratus

Medium181 gShrubland

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. Voice: The flight call is similar to a dove's and is a rhythmic, three-note sound described as 'what-wa-wha'. During take-off and flight, it has a short, high, whistling note 'wheeeuw' about 0.4 seconds long, within a 2–4 kHz range or a low-pitch 'chut-to-la'. Another vocalization is in a series of triple-noted whistling chucking 'chuker-chuker-chuker'.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bob · CC BY 3.0

Burchell's Sandgrouse

Pterocles burchelli

Medium181 gGrassland

Burchell's sandgrouse is a plump bird about the size of a pigeon with a small head and short legs. The body is light brown, mottled with darker shades and white speckles. In males, the eye is surrounded by bare yellow skin and the cheeks and throat are pale grey. The male grows to about 25 cm (10 in) long and the female is a little smaller. Burchell's sandgrouse is limited by water availability, like many species residing in desert environments.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-faced Sandgrouse and Burchell's Sandgrouse.