Ammoperdix heyi (Temminck, 1825).

Length 24 cm. The male bird is a soft purplish-brown color, which matches the color of the rocks among which it lives. The flanks are boldly barred black and rufous, and there is a prominent white patch behind each eye. The female is a duller sandy-grey and lacks the barring and head markings; the bill and legs are orange-yellow. The Sand Partridge lives in small groups in rocky desert and semi-desert with scattered vegetation, where it feeds on seeds, berries, and insects as well as bulbs. When escaping from predators, it tends to run rather than fly. The nest is a shallow scrape under a bush or rock; 5-7 eggs are laid; the underparts of the chicks is pale buff above and whitish below. This is a fairly common resident breeding bird in the Eastern Desert and Sinai.