NAMAQUA SANDGROUSE

One night I was traveling on this deserted desert backroad - I was in zombie-mode, having driven over 800ks since early that morning ...

At regular intervals, birds that were sitting on the road would fly up in the headlights and disappear into the night sky. Some just stayed-put and, as I wasn't hearing any thumps on the bottom of the car, I assumed that they were laying low and had escaped harm ...

There were so many of them on some stretches that, eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I slowed down until I spotted one in the road ahead - I stopped and saw that it was a Namaqua Sandgrouse:


I thought that the bird was sitting on the road to get some warmth in the chill desert air - after I took this pic it flew off and, as I was about to get back into the car, I looked down and saw this chick in a shallow depression in the hard ground:

OneStonedCrow Pics... that's when I realized that all the birds I'd seen before had been nesting - I hope I didn't squash too many babies ... :(
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