Black-bellied sandgrouse

    Pterocles orientalis

Castilian: Ganga ortega

Catalan: Xurra

Gallego: Cortizol común

Euskera: Ganga azpibeltza

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Pterocliformes

Family: Pteroclididae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Vulnerable” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Vulnerable”.

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THREATS

Reduction of its habitat due to agricultural intensification, decreases in fallow land and land boundaries, increases in irrigation systems, reforestation of farm land and the expansion of urban areas are some of the problems that have cause a steep decline in the population and in its area of distribution.

Length / size: 34-36 cm / 65-70 cm

Identification: Large, robust bird with wide wings that have a mimetic colour pattern. The male's throat is orange except for the base, which is black; his head and neck are grey; a black pectoral stripe marks its salmon-coloured breast; his belly is black and his back is marked by golden ocelli. The female is less eye-catching and is an earthy greyish-black colour. In flight the bird's pointed wings, which are white and black underneath, are visible.

Song: Like a cooing: "churr-churr".

Diet: It feeds on small seeds from herbaceous, preferrably leguminous, plants. It generally consumes more grains in summer and wild seeds in winter. This diet demands frequent water consumption because of its low water content.

Reproduction: The breeding period runs from April to August. Both sexes participate in building the nest, incubating the eggs (the male at night an in the morning; the female during the rest of the day) and caring for the chicks. The eggs are laid on the ground, are generally left uncovered, and are cryptic. The chicks are also mimetic and leave the nest within a few hours of birth.

HABITAT

It is found in non-irrigated grain farms, semi-arid pasturelands, fallow land and pebbly lands. It requires accessible and unobstructed watering holes near its breeding sites. It usually breeds from sea level up to an elevation of 1,300 metres.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is unevenly distributed: in the Northern Plateau, the Ebro Valley, the highlands of the Iberian System, Extremadura, the Southern Plateau, the Guadalquivir Valley, and the arid southeast region. In the Canary Islands, it is found in Fuerteventura.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces, with imporant concentrations in the grain-producing regions of the southern part of the River Duero.

Movements and migrations: In the peninsula, populational increases have been reported in some areas and decreases in others. But little is known about its movements.

POPULATION

In Spain:

In Castile and León: