SPORTING ANSWERS
Thirsty work for sandgrouse
WILD BIRDS
Q On a recent safari in South Africa, I was told that sandgrouse will fly up to 30 miles to find water to drink. Is this true?
A The truth is even more astonishing: Burchell’s sandgrouse, for example, are known to make round flights of up 100 miles in order to drink. This is a huge distance to cover on a daily basis but sandgrouse need to drink fresh water every 24 hours, and they have evolved to survive periods of drought by flying great distances to find water.
During the dry season, many waterholes become increasingly saline due to evaporation, forcing the sandgrouse to abandon what had been favoured drinking places in order
