Painted Sandgrouse vs Spotted Sandgrouse

Painted Sandgrouse

Pterocles indicus

Medium178 gGrassland

The painted sandgrouse is a plump ground-dwelling bird with a small head and short legs. The sexes are differently coloured. In the male, the bill is orange and there is a black bar across the white forehead, fine black longitudinal lines on the nape and a white patch of bare skin surrounding the eye. There is a broad black and white band around the chest. The breast and belly are a uniform pinkish-brown colour and the back, wings and tail are brown, boldly marked in black and white transverse bars.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Parth Kansara · CC BY 4.0

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: Painted Sandgrouse and Spotted Sandgrouse.