sandgrouse

noun

sand·​grouse ˈsan(d)-ˌgrau̇s How to pronounce sandgrouse (audio)
: any of numerous birds (family Pteroclididae) of arid parts of southern Europe, Asia, and Africa that have precocial downy young and are related to the shorebirds and the pigeons

Examples of sandgrouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Almost concurrently, there has been a dip in the appearance of the sandgrouse, a migratory bird visiting from Central Asia. Azera Parveen Rahman, Quartz, 27 Oct. 2022 The sandgrouse is a ground-dwelling bird that lives in arid and semi-arid habitats. Azera Parveen Rahman, Quartz, 27 Oct. 2022 And yet, in 2016, ornithologists were overjoyed to have spotted the black-bellied sandgrouse after a period of five years in Jaisalmer. Azera Parveen Rahman, Quartz, 27 Oct. 2022 Her own research has found that, on weekends in Spain, birds like little bustards and pin-tailed sandgrouse change their behavior in response to more people flocking to the countryside. Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian, 14 June 2018 The sandgrouse, a relative of the pigeon, lives in arid parts of Africa, Madagascar, southern Europe, and southern and Central Asia. National Geographic, 7 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sandgrouse was in 1783

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Cite this Entry

“Sandgrouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sandgrouse. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

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