ABSTRACT
16 species, confined to the Palearctic, Afrotropical and Oriental Regions. Of the eight that are found in the Afrotropical Region, five breed in Kenya. The Black-faced Sandgrouse forms part of a species-group with Lichtenstein's and the Four-banded Sandgrouse: in Kenya, which is a notable area of overlap for these three species, the Black-faced is ecologically separated from the other two in denser habitats. A bird of the North (N) tropics which, replacing Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse to the South (S) of the latter's range, extends East (E) from the West (W) coast between 8°N and 17°N to S Sudan and Ethiopia, and thence S to N Uganda and NW Kenya. Locally common in open country, mainly below 1500 m and 90% within arid-semiarid areas. This and the Black-faced are the commonest of Kenya's sandgrouse, but their ranges show marked differences.
