The Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is a ground-dwelling bird of dry steppe-like areas. In the European account, males have elongated central tail feathers and differ from females in breast and facial markings.
In the European account both sexes have a white belly and underwings, while the male has long central tail streamers. The male has black bands on the chest; the female has a sandy-colored face and chest with dark lines.
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse are elusive, ground-nesting steppe birds. In Spain’s Lleida Plain, researchers compared three non-invasive ways to estimate their numbers in 2022: genetic mark-recapture using feathers and droppings, a sandgrouse-specific distance survey, and a broader farmland-bird survey. The genetic samples came from 22 fallow fields during the pre-breeding period.
Genetic mark-recapture estimated 105 birds, with an interval of 84–136, and gave the most precise estimate in the comparison. The broader farmland survey had too few detections for a reliable local abundance estimate. The study shows how survey timing and method can shape the count of an elusive species.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Accurate counts help researchers assess small populations and evaluate conservation measures. In the Lleida Plain comparison, genetic mark-recapture produced the most precise estimate. The authors note that this non-invasive approach may help monitor small populations of elusive steppe birds.