I have to say I was pretty excited when we encountered this Four-banded Sandgrouse, and about eight more of its buddies, during our visit to Ethiopia this past August. When we spotted them in the distance it was obvious that they had some crazy markings and would definitely make some interesting photo opportunities. Since we didn’t want to spook them, we approached them very cautiously and to our delight we were able to get nice and close without flushing them. Looking back at it, I think they might have been trying to use those wild markings as camouflage and were just being still to avoid detection. I think that strategy probably works better during the dry season when the grass is all brown. In any case, check out this awesome sandgrouse. We were smiling from ear to ear the whole time we were watching them.


www.texastargetbirds.com

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Pterocles quadricinctus