Sand-grouse (Pterocletes), a small order of birds, quite distinct from the true grouse. There are two genera, Pterocles and Syrhaptus—the former, including over a dozen species, frequenting sandy tracts in Asia, India, and especially in Africa, the latter represented by two species, both Asiatic. The sand-grouse are birds of beautiful plumage, with heavy body, long and pointed wings, very short legs and toes. They are awkward on the ground, but swift and graceful in flight. They seem to feed chiefly on seeds. Pterocles alchata is sometimes called Ganga.
Pallas's Sand-grouse (Syrhaptus paradoxus), named after the traveller Pallas (q.v.), is at home on the sandy steppes of central Asia, migrating northwards in winter, but at intervals since 1859 this bird has wandered westwards over Europe; in 1863, 1872, 1876, 1888, and 1889 flocks reached British shores; flocks have been seen in Ireland also, and hundreds, 'following their instinctive desire to explore the extreme west,' have found an end in the waves of the Atlantic. The predominant colour is buff, barred with black; the total length of the bird is about 15 inches. The eggs, usually three in number, are buff-coloured with purple-brown blotches, and are laid in a slight hollow in the sand. On the plateaus of Tibet S. tibetanus, the other species of this genus, has its home. See Macpherson, The Visitation of Pallas's Sand-grouse to Scotland (1889).