Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Pteroclidiformes > Pteroclididae > Pterocles > Pterocles alchataPterocles alchata (Pin-tailed Sandgrouse)Synonyms: Tetrao alchata (homotypic) The pin-tailed sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata) is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family. It has a small, pigeon like head and neck and a sturdy, compact body. It has long pointed wings, which are white underneath, a long tail and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn. The call is a loud kattar-kattar. This gregarious species breeds on dry open treeless plains and similar habitats. Its nest is a ground scrape into which two or three cream-coloured eggs with cryptic markings are laid. Both sexes incubate the eggs. |
Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) Unique (100) Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) Unique & Vulnerable (100) ED Score: 19.3822 EDGE Score: 3.01466 |
| Adult Weight [1] | 237 grams | | Birth Weight [2] | 25 grams | | Female Weight [1] | 225 grams | | Male Weight [1] | 250 grams | | Weight Dimorphism [1] | 11.1 % |  | | Diet [3] | Granivore, Herbivore | | Diet - Plants [3] | 30 % | | Diet - Seeds [3] | 70 % | | Forages - Understory [3] | 30 % | | Forages - Ground [3] | 70 % | | | Clutch Size [6] | 3 | | Clutches / Year [4] | 2 | | Fledging [4] | 25 days | | Incubation [5] | 21 days | | Mating Display [2] | Acrobatic aerial display | | Wing Span [5] | 23 inches (.59 m) | | | Female Maturity [4] | 0 years 12 months |
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| Name |
Countries |
Ecozone |
Biome |
Species |
Report |
Climate |
Land
Use |
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Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe |
Kazahkstan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan |
Palearctic |
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands |
Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt , Iraq, Jordan, Syria |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe |
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert |
Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Tajikistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests |
Iran, Azerbaijan |
Palearctic |
Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests |
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Caspian lowland desert |
Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Central Asian northern desert |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Central Asian riparian woodlands |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Central Asian southern desert |
Turkmenistan stretching, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Central Persian desert basins |
Iran, Afghanistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Eastern Anatolian montane steppe |
Iran, Turkey, Armenia |
Palearctic |
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests |
Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Syria |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Gissaro-Alai open woodlands |
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan |
Palearctic |
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests |
Spain, Portugal |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Kazakh semi-desert |
Kazakhstan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Kopet Dag semi-desert |
Iran, Turkmenistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe |
Iran, Turkmenistan |
Palearctic |
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands |
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Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets |
Morocco, Spain |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe |
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Mediterranean woodlands and forests |
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Mesopotamian shrub desert |
Iraq, Syria, Jordan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Middle East steppe |
Syria, Iraq |
Palearctic |
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
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North Saharan steppe and woodlands |
Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests |
France, Spain |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Northwest Iberian montane forests |
Portugal, Spain |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Paropamisus xeric woodlands |
Afghanistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Persian Gulf desert and semi-desert |
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert |
Egypt, Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Yemen, Oman |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Registan-North Pakistan sandy desert |
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Saharan halophytics |
Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara |
Palearctic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert |
Iran, Iraq, Pakistan |
Palearctic |
Deserts and Xeric Shrublands |
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Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests |
Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh |
Iran, Iraq |
Palearctic |
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
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Zagros Mountains forest steppe |
Iran |
Palearctic |
Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests |
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| Name |
Location |
IBA Criteria |
Website |
Climate |
Land Use |
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Ballobar-Candasnos |
Spain |
A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Bardenas Reales |
Spain |
A3, B1iii, B2, C2, C6 |
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Belchite-Mediana |
Spain |
B2, C2, C6 |
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Brozas-Membrío |
Spain |
A1, A4i, B1i, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Campo de Montiel |
Spain |
A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Chokrak-Tutly |
Turkmenistan |
A1, A3, A4i, A4iii |
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Cogul-Alfés steppes |
Spain |
B2, C2, C6 |
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Crau |
France |
A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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La Serena |
Spain |
A1, A4i, B1i, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, C6 |
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Los Monegros (South) |
Spain |
A1, A4ii, B1iii, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Monegrillo-Pina steppe area-Pina |
Spain |
A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Plain between Cáceres and Trujillo-Aldea del Cano |
Spain |
A1, A4i, A4ii, B1i, B1iii, B2, B3, C1, C2, C6 |
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San Clemente-Villarrobledo |
Spain |
A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
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Tembleque-La Guardia plains |
Spain |
A1, A4i, B1i, B2, C1, C2, C3, C6 |
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Tierra de Campiñas steppes |
Spain |
A1, A4ii, B1i, B1iii, B2, B3, C1, C2, C6 |
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Tordesillas-Mota del Marqués |
Spain |
A1, C1, C6 |
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Upper River Tejo |
Portugal |
A4i, B1i, B2, C6 |
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Villafáfila |
Spain |
A1, A4i, A4ii, B1i, B1iii, B2, C1, C2, C3, C6 |
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| Name |
Location |
Endemic |
Species |
Website |
|
Caucasus |
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey |
No |
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Irano-Anatolian |
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan |
No |
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Mediterranean Basin |
Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey |
No |
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Mountains of Central Asia |
Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan |
No |
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 Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Storchová, Lenka; Hořák, David (2018), Data from: Life-history characteristics of European birds, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n6k3n ♦ 2Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605 ♦ 3Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027 ♦ 4Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109 ♦ 5del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ♦ 6Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303 ♦ 7THE PARASITIC FAUNA AND THE FOOD HABITS OF THE WILD JUNGLE CAT FELIS CHAUS FURAX DE WINTON, 1898 IN IRAQ, Mohammad K. Mohammad, Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2008) 10(2): 65-78 ♦ 8Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database |
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0
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