[3] Pallas's sandgrouse is 30–41 cm (12–16 in) long with small, pigeon-like head and neck, but sturdy compact body.

It is a partial migrant, especially from the northern parts of its range in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, but the extent and distance of the southerly winter movement depends on the amount of snowfall.

Pallas's sandgrouse occasionally irrupts from its regular breeding and wintering range as a vagrant across Europe as far west as Great Britain, where it has bred, and Ireland.

The reasons for these remarkable movements are not fully understood, but they have become less frequent, probably due to contraction of the western Siberian range as the steppes become more agricultural.

Large flocks of several thousand individuals fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk making round trips of up to 121 km (75 mi) per day.