Great Indian Bustard

The Great Indian Bustard or Indian Bustard with the scientific name Ardeotis nigriceps is

one of the rarest birds found in India and the Pakistan. It is the only bustard bird in India which belongs to the family ardeotis.

It is one of a large bird found in India which has a horizontal body with long bare legs. Because of this it gets an ostrich like appearance. This bird species is one of the heaviest flying birds in India. The quick classification of this Great Indian Bustard is given below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Gruiformes
Family	Otididae (Otidae)
Genus	Ardeotis
Species	Ardeotis Nigreceps

Physical Characteristics:

The Great Indian Bustard is one of the very large birds in India. It is one of a ground running birds. Head and neck of this species is in pale colour with a black cap. The body of this Indian Bustard is in brown colour and has black patch spotted in the body. The height of these species is 1 meter (39 in). The length of the male Indian bustard is 122 cm (48 in) and the weight of the male Indian bustard is 18 to 32 lb (8 to 14.5 kg).


The length of the Female Indian bustard is 92 cm (36 in) and the weight of the female Indian bustard is 7.5 to 15 lb (3.5to 7.75 kg). The male Indian bustard is in deep sandy buff colour. During the breeding season male bustard has a breast band in black colour. The crown in this birds' head is in black colour. The female bustard is small in size when compared to the male. The weight of this species is in the range of 9.5 kg (21 lb). Sometimes, these species weigh up to 18.15 kg (40 lb).

The main habitat for these Great Indian

Bustard is arid and semi arid grass lands and open country with scrubs. These species are also found in cultivated tall grass interspersed areas, desert plains and short grass plains. These species avoid irrigated areas.

These species prefer central and western India and Pakistan to breed. These species have been exterminated from their former range because of loss of habitat and poaching of eggs. These species inhabitthe places like grasslands as well. Many of the great Indian bustards have been found in construction sites and on roadsides which result in the fragmentation of the population.

Behavior

The Great Indian Bustard is omnivorous in nature. The Male Indian Bustard is polygamous in nature. These species will drink water when it is available. These species are suck water by raising their heads up to an angle. When they are threatened, hens carry their young chicks.

Migration

For these species, no migration records have been found.

Food Habits

Great Indian Bustard is omnivorous in nature. The major food for these species is grass, seeds, beetles, berries, grasshoppers and groundnuts. These species are one of the opportunistic eaters in India. They change their diet depending on the availability of food in that particular season. These species also prefer some small rodents, insects and reptiles as their food. In the cultivated lands, they feed on crops like ground nut, pods of legumes and millets.

These species are one of the birds which are commonly

found in the Indian subcontinent.
The Great Indian Bustard is found in the states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Rajasthan. These species are also widely spread in Pakistan. The great Indian Bustard is commonly found in the following sanctuaries in India:

1. The Desert National Park in Rajasthan.
2. The Lala-Parjau sanctuary in western Kutch (Gujarat).
3. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Gurgaon.
4. Ghatigaon Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
5. Naliya Bird Sanctuary in Kutch.
6. Karera Wildlife Sanctuary in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh.
7. Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh.
8. Ranibennur Blackbuck Sanctuary in Karnataka.

Mating and Nesting

The Great Indian Bustard breeds between the months of March and September. In this time frame of breeding the male Indian bustards' fluffy white feathers become inflated. In the breeding season the male bustard develops a black breast band. These species build the nest on the ground. The male bustard starts breeding at 5 to 7 years. The female bustard starts breeding at 2 to 3 years. The female bird lays only one egg at a time. The Incubation period of this Indian bustard is 27 to 30 days.

The male Indian bustard will not take part in the incubation activity. Only female bustards do the incubation. The fledging period for these species is 30 to 35 days. The fledglings stay with the mother bustard until the next breeding season starts. The male bustard do not take part in caring of the chicks. The young ones can be able to fly within six weeks time.

The most important cause for the loss of the great Indian bustard is habitat destruction.

The other reason for the threats are human disturbances at their breeding colonies and poaching of its eggs and chicks, loss of feeding sites.
Many people are hunting these species for food. Corruption and mismanagement of bird sanctuaries are also one of the reason for the threats of the Indian bustard. In India, we don't have any clear cut land policy and domestic animals gracing policy. It is also a reason which causes a threat to these Indian birds. In 2011, The Bird Life International Board has declared that this species belongs to "Critically Endangered species" category from endangered category.

Interesting facts about the Indian Bustard

1. There are 26 species of Bustards which are recognized in the world. Among that 6 species of Bustards are commonly found in India. They are,
– Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis,
– Lesser Florican Sypheotides indicus
– Great Bustard Otis tarda,
– Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps,
– Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis,
– Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax.
2. These species are one of the heaviest and ground running bird in the world. This Great Indian Bustard was proposed as a national bird of India. But, this proposal was dropped in favour of the Indian Peafowl.
3. Some of the Indian bustard birds are also called as Floricans. These species have the same habitat like the Black buck. These Indian Bustards are one of the terrestrial birds in India which are mainly associated with the open country and Steppes of the old world. Life span of this Great Indian Bustard is 15 to 20 years.