Painted sandgrouse

The painted sandgrouse (Pterocles indicus) is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family Pteroclidae found in India and Pakistan.

The painted sandgrouse is a plump ground-dwelling bird with a small head and short legs. The sexes are differently coloured. In the male, the bill is orange and there is a black bar across the white forehead, fine black longitudinal lines on the nape and a white patch of bare skin surrounding the eye. There is a broad black and white band around the chest. The breast and belly are a uniform pinkish-brown colour and the back, wings and tail are brown, boldly marked in black and white transverse bars. The female is duller in appearance being a greyish brown colour, barred and speckled with darker brown and white.