Madagascar Sandgrouse

Pterocles personatus Gould, 1843

Madagascar Sandgrouse, Pterocles personatus, is a sandgrouse that breeds in western and southern Madagascar. It is the only sandgrouse found on the island and lives on dry open ground, including level areas with sparse vegetation and the spiny forests of the south-east. It is a ground-dwelling bird with short legs and a short tail, and both sexes show black underwings. The male has a brown head with black around the beak and a yellow bare eye-ring, while the female is duller and more cryptically marked.

Order

Pterocliformes

Family

Pteroclidae — Sandgrouse

Breeding range

Africa: w, s Madagascar