Black-faced Sandgrouse vs Spotted 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

Spotted Sandgrouse

Pterocles senegallus

Medium263 gDesert

The spotted sandgrouse reaches a length of about 33 centimetres (13 in). The male has a small reddish-brown nape surrounded by a band of pale grey that extends to the bill and round the neck in a collar. The chin, neck and throat are orange and the breast grey. The upper parts are pinkish-grey with dark flight feathers and dark patches on the wings, tail and lower belly. The primaries are pale with dark trailing edges, a fact that distinguishes this species from the crowned sandgrouse (Pterocles coronatus) which has completely dark primaries.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0

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