Desert chickens
| Desert chickens | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persian sand chicken |
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| Systematics | ||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Ammoperdix | ||||||||
| Gould , 1851 |
Desert chicken ( Ammoperdix ), also known as sand grouse , are a genus of the pheasant-like family . They are closely related to the stone fowl .
Desert chickens are inhabitants of stony semi-deserts in northeastern Africa , in Arabia , the Middle East and western Pakistan . They are petite chicken birds that are between a quail and a partridge in body size . Typical for them is a sand-brown desert color, rounded wings, a short, twelve-sided tail and high legs. Both species, which are assigned to the genus of the desert chicken, show a sexual dimorphism , i. That is, males and females have a differently colored body plumage.
species
- Arabian sand grouse ( Ammoperdix heyi ) that inhabits Egypt east of the Nile, northeastern Sudan , southern Arabia, and the Jordan Valley .
- Persian sand grouse ( Ammoperdix griseogularis ) found in southeastern Turkey , Iraq , Iran and Pakistan .
literature
- Heinz-Sigurd Raethel : quail, partridge, stone fowl, francoline and relatives. Reutlingen publishing house, Reutlingen 1996, ISBN 3-88627-155-2 .
Web links
Commons : Desert Grouse ( Ammoperdix ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files
