Sand Grouse

Sand-Grouse, a small order (Pterocletes) of birds, with two genera, characteristic of the Ethiopian region and Asia. They are pre-eminently desert birds, and the plumage is protective - buff with darker markings. The wings are long and pointed, giving them great powers of flight; the legs and toes are short. The genus Pterocles, with about a dozen species, is represented in Europe, P. alchata being known in Spain as the Ganga. The genus Syrrhaptes is Asiatic. Pallas's Sand-grouse (S. paradoxus) wanders westwards at uncertain intervals in large flocks.