THE IMPERIAL OR BLACK-BELLIED SANDGROUSE 
The same general characteristics that make many other representa- 
tives of the sandgrouse family worthy of consideration as potential 
residents of semidesert wasteland areas in the western United States 
are found in the imperial sandgrouse. There are also some differences 
that should be noted. The imperial is among the largest of all the 
sandgrouse and is the most widely distributed. It nests further north 
than other members of the genus (Pterocles). It can withstand more 
cold and snow than other sandgrouse save only the Tibetan species 
(Syrraptes). It is resident in some areas though semimigratory over 
most of its range. It can exist for long periods on weed seeds smaller 
than the head of a pin but can also glean in fields from which wheat or 
other small grains have been harvested. Like other sandgrouse it will 
fly long distances to water, but it nests in open spots where the 
maximum summer temperature is usually somewhat cooler than that of the 
nesting habitat of other species of the same genus. In short, the 
imperial sandgrouse would seem to be more generally adaptable to tem- 
perate desert conditions than any other member of its family. 
Preferred habitats include sandy, semiarid plains and rolling 
country either with or without a scattering of trees and shrubs. Dry 
farming areas are frequented. Here birds are seen on fallow ground, 
in stubble, or in fields overgrown with weeds and grass. Nesting areas 
are reported at elevations from less than 2,000 feet in Spain to 10,000 
feet in Afghanistan. 
A wide variety of climate is found throughout the summer and 
winter ranges of this species. Winter temperatures preferred are 
usually above freezing though birds in Turkey have been observed where 
temperatures very occasionally dropped to less than 20°F and snow 
covered the ground for upwards of a week at a time. Summer temperatures, 
though generally moderate in the nesting areas, range from a maximum of 
85° to 90°F to a sizzling 110°F. 
All sandgrouse prefer desert or semidry conditions. While average 
annual precipitation in imperial habitat varies from 2 to over 20 inches 
a year, this species will thrive in the presence of more moisture than 
is characteristic of the range of most sandgrouse, 
A careful review of the literature, supported by 12 years of 
intermittent but substantial observations of this species by Program 
biologists, has uncovered no reason to believe that the imperial sand- 
grouse would compete unfavorably with native species or prove detrimental 
to agricultural interests in the United States, in the event of its 
successful introduction, 
State game biologists in the western United States have often 
expressed an interest in locating game birds that might be adaptable 
to practically unoccupied desert or semiarid habitats. The imperial 
sandgrouse would seem to merit serious consideration in this search. 
