Pteroclidae

Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae (), a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes (). They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as Syrrhaptes and the other fourteen species, from Africa and Asia, are placed in the genus Pterocles. They are ground-dwelling birds restricted to treeless, open country, such as plains, savannahs, and semi-deserts. They are distributed across northern, southern, and eastern Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, and India through central Asia. The ranges of the black-bellied sandgrouse and the pin-tailed sandgrouse even extend into the Iberian Peninsula and France, and Pallas's sandgrouse occasionally breaks out in large numbers from its normal range in Asia.

==Description== Sandgrouse have small, pigeon-like heads and necks and sturdy compact bodies. They range in size from in length and from in weight. Their feathers' colours blend in with their desert environment. The adults are sexually dimorphic with the males being slightly larger and more brightly colored than the females. They have eleven strong primary feathers and long pointed wings, giving them a fast and direct flight. The muscles of the wings are powerful and the birds are capable of rapid take off and sustained flight. In some species, the central feathers in the tail are extended into long points.