In southern Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, where birds wintered, 
annuals found include Plantago ovata, Schismus sp.; Astragalus spp. 
Medicago laceniata, and Stipa tortilis (Zohary 47). In sandy deserts 
of southern Iraq, Zohary notes typical plants as Haloxylon salicornicun, 
Rhanterium epapposum, Teucrium sp., Heliotropium persicum, and Litho- 
spernum callosum with Zizyphus nummularia. 
A major wintering area for imperial sandgrouse is the Sind or Thar 
desert of Rajasthan, India. Christensen (14), who was a Program 
collaborator in this area from 1959 to 1961, describes the range of major 
concentration as follows: 
"The Thar Desert is a sandy grassland plain with the vegetational 
makeup of the habitat dominated by an overstory of scattered mesquite 
(Prosopis specigera) and an understory of large spiny shrubs composed 
principally of Capparis aphylla, Zizyphus sp., Acacia leucophloea, 
Rhus mysorensis, and Euphorbia royleana. There are frequent expanses 
of bare ground; however, during years of good precipitation the desert 
floor is covered with a turf of forbs and grasses. Some of the more 
common forbs are Calotropis sp., Aeura javanica, Indigofera sp., and 
Tephrosia sp. Grasses are very well represented with some of the most 
prominent ones being Elionurus hirsutus, Cenchrus sp., Heteropogon 
contortus, Gracilea royleana, | Eragrostis major, Aristida sp., Cynodon 
dactylon, and nd Sporobolus pallidus. 
"Checkerboarding the Thar Desert are small patches of cultivation 
which depend almost entirely upon monsoon rains for success. The 
principal crops are millet (Pennisetum typhoideum), sorghum (Sorghum sp.), 
pulse (Phaseolus sp.), and wheat (Triticum sp.). Towards the western 
reaches of the desert, where the annual rainfall is between 5 and 10 
inches the amount of cultivation is reduced considerably." 
Topography 
Topographically speaking, imperial sandgrouse habitat is character- 
ized by flat to rolling country. This may take the form of seemingly 
endless steppes, broad valleys bounded by hills or mountains, or exten- 
sive mesas and upland plateaus. Low hills pose no impediment to movement 
even in summer, In fact I occasionally flushed these sandgrouse from 
moderately steep hillsides about waterholes though such topography must 
be considered as incidental to sandgrouse habitat, Though occupied 
steppes are basically flat, the land surface is often broken by hummocks 
hillocks, minor eroded areas, or occasional worn-down rocky outcrops. 
In contrast with topography, elevation plays a minor part in 
habitat selection. Birds occur in the summer range from almost sea 
level to above 10,000 feet. The major breeding areas in Spain, Turkey, 
Iraq, and southern Siberia lie between 1,000 and 4,000 feet in elevation; 
wintering grounds are lower in the Middle East, West Pakistan, and India. 
40 
