Painted sandgrouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Painted sandgrouse |
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| Adult | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pterocles
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| Species: |
indicus
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The painted sandgrouse (Pterocles indicus) is a medium-sized bird. It belongs to the sandgrouse family, called Pteroclidae. You can find these birds in India and Pakistan.
What is a Painted Sandgrouse?
How it Got its Name
The painted sandgrouse was officially described in 1789. A German scientist named Johann Friedrich Gmelin gave it its first scientific name. He put it in a group with other grouse-like birds. Its original scientific name was Tetrao indicus.
Gmelin learned about this bird from a French scientist, Pierre Sonnerat. Sonnerat had described and drawn "La gélinote des Indes" in 1782. This bird came from the Coromandel Coast in India.
Today, the painted sandgrouse is part of the Pterocles group. This group has 13 other species. A Dutch zoologist, Coenraad Jacob Temminck, created the Pterocles group in 1815.
The name Pterocles comes from Ancient Greek. Pteron means "wing," and -klēs means "notable" or "splendid." The second part of its name, indicus, is Latin for "Indian." This bird is a single species, meaning it has no different types or subspecies.
What Does it Look Like?
The painted sandgrouse is a plump bird. It lives on the ground and has a small head. Its legs are short. Male and female painted sandgrouse look different.
- Males: The male bird has an orange beak. It has a black stripe across its white forehead. Fine black lines run along the back of its neck. There is a white patch of skin around its eye. A wide black and white band goes around its chest. Its chest and belly are a soft pinkish-brown color. The back, wings, and tail are brown. They have bold black and white stripes across them.
- Females: The female bird looks duller. She is a grayish-brown color. Her feathers have darker brown and white spots and stripes.
Home and Habits
The painted sandgrouse lives in dry areas. You can find it in rough grasslands, rocky places, and scrubland. It mainly eats seeds. These birds like to be in groups. Many painted sandgrouse gather at waterholes to drink together.
