Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Otidiformes > Otididae > Ardeotis > Ardeotis nigriceps| | Ardeotis nigriceps (Great Indian Bustard) | |
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) or Indian bustard is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, as few as 250 individuals were estimated in 2011 to survive and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. It is protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India. |
As its name suggests, the Great Indian Bustard is found in India and neighbouring parts of Pakistan. It is the largest bird within this range, with males standing at well over a metre in height. The species was formerly found across the Indian Subcontinent, but is now locally extinct from 90 per cent of its original range. Historically, hunting has been the main factor in the initial decline in numbers and this was exacerbated by habitat destruction. Hunting is still a major issue in some parts of its range. Today the small population is threatened primarily by habitat degradation and loss. Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) Unique (100) Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) Unique & Vulnerable (100) ED Score: 8.98841 EDGE Score: 5.07401 |
| Adult Weight [1] | 6.17 lbs (2.80 kg) | | Birth Weight [1] | 145 grams |  | | Diet [2] | Carnivore (Invertebrates), Carnivore (Vertebrates), Frugivore, Granivore, Herbivore | | Diet - Ectothermic [2] | 10 % | | Diet - Endothermic [2] | 10 % | | Diet - Fruit [2] | 20 % | | Diet - Invertibrates [2] | 20 % | | Diet - Plants [2] | 20 % | | Diet - Seeds [2] | 20 % | | Forages - Understory [2] | 10 % | | Forages - Ground [2] | 90 % | | | Clutch Size [4] | 1 | | Incubation [3] | 27 days | | Top 100 Endangered [5] | Yes |
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| Name |
IUCN Category |
Area acres |
Location |
Species |
Website |
Climate |
Land Use |
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Desert National Park |
II |
672840 |
Rajasthan, India |
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Institutions (Zoos, etc.) |
 MapsAttributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605 ♦ 2Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027 ♦ 3del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ♦ 4Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303 ♦ 5Baillie, J.E.M. & Butcher, E. R. (2012) Priceless or Worthless? The world’s most threatened species. Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom. ♦ 6Munjpara, S.B., C.N. Pandey & B. Jethva (2012). Habitat use by the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (Gruiformes: Otididae) in breeding and non-breeding seasons in Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(2): 3654–3660 Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 WWF WildFINDER |
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