The Zoochat Photographic Guide To Mesites, Pigeons And Sandgrouse

Pterocles


Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)

The range of this species extends from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa into the Middle East, Central Asia and northwest Indian Subcontinent.

Two subspecies are recognised:

P. o. orientalis
P. o. arenarius - photo by @fofo




Namaqua Sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southwest Africa, from southwest Angola and Namibia east to southwest Zimbabwe, and south through Botswana to west-central South Africa.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus)

The range of this species extends throughout the Sahel region of Africa, from southern Mauritania and Senegal in the west to Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east; from here the species extends south through South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya to Tanzania, and east across the Gulf of Aden through the southern and eastern Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran into Pakistan and the Indian Subcontinent.

Six subspecies recognised:

P. e. exustus - photo by @Goura



P. e. floweri
P. e. ellioti
P. e. olivascens
P. e. erlangeri - photo by @ThylacineAlive



P. e. hindustan


Spotted Sandgrouse (Pterocles senegallus)

The range of this species extends throughout North Africa south through the Sahara into the Sahel, and east into the Middle East, northern Arabian Peninsula and as far to the east as northwest India and adjacent Pakistan.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Yellow-throated Sandgrouse (Pterocles gutturalis)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout eastern and southern Africa in a highly-fragmented distribution of disjunct populations, from Ethiopia in the north, through Kenya and Tanzania into Zambia, southeast Angola and western Zimbabwe, to as far south as northern South Africa.

Two subspecies recognised:

P. g. saturatior - photo by @Hix



P. g. gutturalis


Madagascar Sandgrouse (Pterocles personatus)

Endemic to northwest, western and southwest Madagascar.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Crowned Sandgrouse (Pterocles coronatus)

The range of this species extends throughout North Africa and the Sahara Desert, and patchily into the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, and from here into southeast Iran, Afghanistan and southern Pakistan.

Five subspecies recognised:

P. c. coronatus
P. c. vastitas
P. c. saturatus
P. c. atratus
P. c. ladas

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)

The range of this species extends patchily through southern France and the Iberian Peninsula, and throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, with wintering populations in the central Arabian Peninsula, northern India and Pakistan.

Two subspecies recognised:

P. a. alchata - photo by @devilfish



P. a. caudacutus - photo by @Tomek




Burchell's Sandgrouse (Pterocles burchelli)

The range of this species extends throughout much of south-central Africa, from northern Namibia and adjacent southern Angola in the west, to Zimbabwe in the east, and south through Botswana to northern South Africa.

Two subspecies recognised:

P. b. makarikari - photo by @Maguari



P. b. burchelli


Black-faced Sandgrouse (Pterocles decoratus)

The range of this species extends from southern Ethiopia and Somalia, through Kenya to central Tanzania.

Three subspecies recognised:

P. d. ellenbecki
P. d. loveridgei
P. d. decoratus - photo by @lintworm




Double-banded Sandgrouse (Pterocles bicinctus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southern Africa, from southwest Angola in the west to Malawi in the east, and south to west-central Mozambique, northeast South Africa and Botswana.

Four subspecies recognised:

P. b. ansorgei
P. b. usheri
P. b. bicinctus
P. b. multicolor

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Four-banded Sandgrouse (Pterocles quadricinctus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of the Sahel region, from Senegal and Gambia in the west to South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east, and patchily south into Uganda and Kenya.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ituri




Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse (Pterocles lichtensteinii)

The range of this species extends patchily and in a fragmented distribution throughout North Africa, the Sahara Desert and Sahel, extending into the Horn of Africa in the east; south of here populations extend into Kenya, and north of here populations occur patchily throughout the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran and adjacent Pakistan.

Five subspecies recognised:

P. l. targius
P. l. lichtensteinii
P. l. sukensis
P. l. ingramsi
P. l. arabicus

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Painted Sandgrouse (Pterocles indicus)

The range of this species is restricted to Peninsular India, extending into northwest Pakistan in the north.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.
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So, barring further photo uploads of species - and any discussions of species taxonomy which may be provoked by this thread - that is another photographic guide successfully completed

 

I have uploaded photos of four new species: Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon in the India Wildlife gallery; and Grey-headed Imperial Pigeon, Sulawesi Black Pigeon, and Brown Cuckoo-Dove [Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove as per this thread] in the Indonesia Wildlife gallery. The latter is a single bird amongst Sulawesi Black Pigeons and is a crop from a wider photo, so it's not the greatest.

Also three new subspecies: White-throated Pigeon vitiensis in the Kula Eco-Park gallery (under Fiji); Green-winged Dove robinsoni in the Sri Lanka Wildlife gallery; and Wompoo keri in the Australia Wildlife gallery.

Also additional photos for three species already represented: Mountain Imperial Pigeon badia in the Malaysia Wildlife gallery; Hill Pigeon in the India Wildlife gallery (the photo I already had here was just showing the white tail in flight, the new one is of the bird on the ground); and two of Golden Dove in the Kula Eco-Park gallery (under Fiji). The latter were in the gallery formerly but had been purged.

 

Excellent I shall get to adding these.

 

Could have sworn I had can fix that readily enough.

 

What reason would that be? It is a G. sclaterii. In G. scheepmakeri the maroon of the breast continues down over the underparts (the belly) whereas the belly is blue in sclaterii, and the part of the wing above the white bar is maroon in sclaterii and blue in scheepmakeri.

 

I suspect it *might* be a hybrid, given the neck colouration - but it is most certainly not true Scheepmaker's Crowned.

Much appreciated!

 

In 2010 sclaterii was still considered a subspecies of scheepmakeri, so most zoos would be signing their birds as the latter. (I always just called them Scheepmaker's as well). As per the photo comment thread, I'm more inclined now towards this particular bird being a hybrid rather than a pure sclaterii. My supposition would be a hybrid between sclaterii and cristata.