Pike-fly chicken
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Northern black grouse , subspecies Pterocles alchata caudacutus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Pterocles alchata | ||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The pin-tailed sandgrouse ( Pterocles alchata ) is a contrast colored species from the family of grouse , is next to the Sandgrouse and until the early 20th century invasion like einfliegenden steppe Ortega to the species of this family, which also occur in Europe.
features
The spit-winged grouse is approx. 37 cm long and reaches a wingspan of up to 65 cm. Unlike other members of this family, the males and females have a plain dress that can be clearly distinguished from the breeding dress.
In the male in the breeding plumage, the eye stripe, the chin and the throat are black. The head is ocher. A broad red-brown chest band is colored black. The belly is white and the middle of the 16 tail feathers are elongated like a spike. On the back and the wing covers there are conspicuous olive-yellow tropical spots. In a simple dress they also show these teardrop-shaped spots on the crown, the back of the head and the forehead. The throat is wholly or partially white. The rest of the plumage corresponds to the brood dress.
The females are slightly paler than the males in the breeding dress. Their throat is white and they have an additional black collar. They have black and pearl gray transverse bands on the upper side of the body. The transverse straps are missing in the resting dress.
Habitat and Distribution
The spit-winged fowl occur in semi-deserts and dry steppes . These are particularly suitable if they contain sandy stretches of land or dunes. However, the animal habitat is constantly decreasing. This species flies to the northern edge of the Sahara to hibernate .
Reproduction
The birds breed from the first half of May to July. The clutch , which usually consists of three, but rarely two eggs , is placed in the shade of a bush without a base. The male incubates through the night and the female takes over in the late morning / early afternoon. The animals often come together to form loose colonies during the breeding season. In the beginning the young look like the plover chicks . They get their own food from the start, but are still supplied with drinking water by the adult birds. The young fledglings after three to four weeks.
food
The diet consists mainly of grains found on the ground. Since their food is very dry, they need a lot of water and therefore fly several times a day to their watering place, which can be up to 50 km away from the breeding site. They dip their feathers in the water and fly back again. There the young birds pull their wet feathers through their beaks.
literature
- Wolfgang Grummt , Harro Strehlow (Hrsg.): Zoo animal keeping birds. Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 .
- Steve Madge , Philip McGowan , Guy M. Kirwan : Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse. A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails and Sandgrouse of the world. Christopher Helm, London 2002, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0 .
Web links
- Pterocles alchata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Pterocles alchata in the Internet Bird Collection