Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae /tɛˈrɒklɪdiː/, a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes /ˌtɛrəklɪfɔːrmiːz/.

They are distributed across northern, southern, and eastern Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, and India through central Asia.

They have eleven strong primary feathers and long pointed wings, giving them a fast and direct flight.

[1] The plumage is cryptic, generally being in shades of sandy brown, grey and buff, and variously mottled and barred, enabling the birds to merge into the dusty landscape.

Their range extends from the Caspian Sea through southern Siberia, Tibet, and Mongolia to northern and central China.

This happened in 1863 and 1888, and a major irruption took place in 1908 when many birds were seen as far afield as Ireland and the United Kingdom where they bred in Yorkshire and Moray.

[3][4] Members of the genus Pterocles are mainly found in the drier parts of northern, eastern, and southern Africa, though the range of some species extends into the Middle East and western Asia.

[1] The diet of many sandgrouse is highly specialised, with the seeds of a small number of plant species being dominant.

This may depend on local availability but in other cases it reflects actual selection of favoured seeds over others by the sandgrouse.

The sandgrouse tend to avoid sites with cover for mammalian predators and their greatest risk is usually from predatory birds.

[3] The Burchell's sandgrouse in the Kalahari Desert sometimes travels over 100 miles (160 km) daily to reach a water source.

The intricately patterned, precocial downy young, and egg colouration (though not shape) closely resemble those of many Charadriiformes.

Chicks are too small and young to thermoregulate at first, and their parents shade them during the hottest part of the day, and brood them to keep warm at night.

[9] Sandgrouse were later placed near the Columbiformes largely due to their reported ability to drink by the "sucking" or "pumping" action of peristalsis of the esophagus, an unusual characteristic.

They are not generally sought after as game birds as they are not especially palatable, although they have on occasion been taken in great numbers at water holes.