Double-banded sandgrouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Double-banded sandgrouse |
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| A pair in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The male is on the left. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pterocles
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| Species: |
bicinctus
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The double-banded sandgrouse (Pterocles bicinctus) is a cool bird that lives mostly on the ground. Even though it's a ground-dwelling bird, it can fly! It belongs to a bird family called Pteroclidae. You can find these birds in the dry, desert-like areas of southern Africa.
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Different Types of Double-banded Sandgrouse
Just like there are different breeds of dogs, there are slightly different types of double-banded sandgrouse. These are called subspecies. There are three main ones:
- P. b. ansorgei: This type lives in the southwest of Angola.
- P. b. bicinctus: You can find this one in Namibia, Botswana, and the northwest of Cape Province, South Africa.
- P. b. multicolor: This type is found in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and a region called Transvaal.
These sandgrouse have also been seen near the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
What Does a Double-banded Sandgrouse Look Like?
This bird is about the size of a quail and has a plump body. It has a small head, a bit like a pigeon, with long wings and a long tail. Its feathers are mostly light brown with darker spots and rows of whitish specks.
Spotting the Male and Female
The male sandgrouse is easy to spot! He has a clear black-and-white band on his forehead. His throat is a chestnut color, also outlined by another black-and-white band. Both male and female birds have a patch of bare, yellow skin around their eyes. The male also has a bright orange beak. The female is a bit smaller and her brown feathers are not as bright. Young sandgrouse look similar to the female.
Where Do Double-banded Sandgrouse Live?
You can find the double-banded sandgrouse in several countries in southern Africa. These include Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Their Favorite Places to Live
These birds like areas with short, flattened grass, especially near roads and paths. They also enjoy gravel patches and grassy areas with clumps of grass. Sometimes, they are seen in places where fires have recently cleared the land, allowing new green shoots to grow. They also live in areas with thin plant cover under scattered Terminalia sericea and Burkea africana trees. You might also find them in scrubby mopane woodlands. They are not as common as some other sandgrouse species in southern Africa.
What Do Double-banded Sandgrouse Eat and Do?
Their diet is mostly made up of seeds. They eat seeds from plants like acacia, red pea (Requenia sphaerosperma), Tephrosia, Cyperus, blackjack (Bidens bidentata), and hairy thorn-apple (Datura innoxia).
How They Raise Their Young
Double-banded sandgrouse usually breed between February and September. The breeding season starts earlier in the northern parts of their range. The male bird has a special dance to attract a mate. He walks in circles with his beak close to the ground and his tail held high.
The nest is a shallow dip in the soil. It's usually lined with a few dry plant bits and often hidden under grass or a bush. The female lays two or three eggs. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. The eggs hatch in about 24 days.
When the chicks hatch, they are already active with their eyes open. They are covered in soft, fluffy down. This means they are precocial. In about a month, they grow their adult feathers and can fly!
Their Daily Life
You usually see double-banded sandgrouse in small groups of one to five birds. Often, they are in pairs or family units, as they are monogamous (they have one mate). In the morning, they like to find food in dry areas, far from water. But in the afternoon, you'll often see them near watering holes. They visit water again after dark, sometimes in larger groups of up to 10 birds.
In a place called Borakalalo Game Reserve in South Africa, these birds were seen during dry times of the year, like February, March, July, and September. They were not in the park during the wet summer months, from September to January.
