Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse

The chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, or common sandgrouse, is a bird of barren semi-deserts, with six recognised subspecies. Males and females differ in plumage, and overall colour varies between subspecies. The subspecies in Iran, Pakistan and India is paler and greyer than the nominate one, and in India it is found most abundantly in the Thar, or Sindh, desert. Unlike most sandgrouse, which migrate, it is sedentary (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a selective feeder that lives primarily on seeds, often preferring to eat small seeds in large amounts, and like all sandgrouse also takes small insects and fallen berries. Its range runs from northern and central Africa east to western and southern Asia. SoIB 2023 rates it a Low conservation priority: a resident of grassland with a Large range, a long-term decline of about 58% and a stable current trend. Nesting information in the cached account is from captive birds (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).