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Syrrhaptes or Pterocles
This looks like a Sandgrouse, although this would be the only one I've seen firsthand. I make my assessment based on the gray of the bird's belly and neck, the orange of its face and wings, the black of its tail, black barring on its rump, and its overall shape. http://www.lynxeds.com/plate/plate-1-vol... http://www.darvillsrareprints.com/images... http://luirig.altervista.org/pics/displa...
What it's doing out in the open, solitary, perched on a tree trunk on a forested mountain scanning the land like a bird of prey is beyond me! It must be preparing for breeding season, since (according to the Wikipedia entry for "Tibetan Sandgrouse") "This species breeds from May to June on the arid stony plateau and ridges, the nest site generally chosen near the top of the ridge on the leeward side" and is "generally not wary." The bird was sighted at the end of April and was, indeed, on the leeward side of the mountain--though it wasn't per se a "stony" mountain. Perhaps it was still in transit to its stony nesting mountain of choice.
I photographed this bird at 3:20pm on April 30, 2013 in a very quiet valley. 35°41'32.21"N 101°57'15.36"E
Spotted on Apr 30, 2013
Submitted on Nov 10, 2013
3 Comments
Or, at any rate, a sandgrouse of some variety. The black barring near the tail seems unusual for a Tibetan Sandgrouse.
Thank you, Marc! I looked into Godlewski's Bunting after your friend suggested it, but the truth is that this bird is simply too large to be a bunting (see the trees around it for scale). I have finally settled on it likely being a Tibetan Sandgrouse, for the reasons I outlined in the description. Please let me know if that sounds unlikely to you.
A trusted ornithologist-friend has suggested the possibility of it being Godlewski's Bunting ... but the image is too blurry to confirm this.