Great Indian Bustard

NH-B-

Great Indian Bustard

NH-B-

Description

Ardeotis nigriceps

The Great Indian Bustard is a large bird of the bustard family and one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. It can easily be distinguished by its black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and head. The body is brownish, and the wings are marked with black, brown, and grey. The Great Indian Bustard inhabit dry grasslands and scrublands on the Indian subcontinent. It is the state bird of Rajasthan, where the largest populations are found. They are omnivores that feed opportunistically on various arthropods, worms, small mammals, and small reptiles. When the "national bird" of India was under consideration, the Great Indian Bustard was a proposed candidate, strongly supported by the Indian ornithologist Salim Ali, but dropped in favour of the Indian peafowl with at least one reason being the potential for being misspelt. Hunting, habitat degradation, collisions with high tension electric wires, fast moving vehicles, feral dogs in villages, grazing cattle and infrastructure development pose some of the most immediate threats to the species’ survival. This species is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.