Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps Scientific name definitions

Male 100–122 cm (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), 8000–14,500 g; female 76–92 cm (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), 3500–6750 g. Often has extensive black crown; legs pale yellowish . Virtually identical to A. australis, but often with indistinct but broad black breastband, some black on thighs, and either no distinct line behind eye or black cap descends through eye ; tends to have less white on black wing patch . Non-breeding male has finely vermiculated grey neck and less voluminous plumes on breast (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Female  smaller  , with white supercilium  below black crown, greyer, more distinctly barred neck without plumes and more rarely has breastband, which if present is typically broken, while the lower flanks and vent appear mostly white and has heavier white wing spotting and banding than male (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); in non-breeding season the crown is flecked with grey (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Immature similar to female, but has buff spots on crown, hindneck and upper back, more heavily barred neck and breast, no dark breastband, lower flanks and vent heavily barred, and outer primaries brown and slightly banded (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

SE Pakistan (Sind), and W & C India from Rajasthan S through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to N Karnataka and W Andhra Pradesh; all populations outside Rajasthan relict.

Optimally occurs in rolling grassland with vegetation 30–70 cm high, with or without scattered trees; but also found in open scrub, sandy semi-desert plains, broad pastures, marginal fields and lightly disturbed cultivation.

Sedentary or seasonally nomadic, or may follow both strategies; generally dispersing, or at least disappearing, at various periods depending probably on availability of water; possibly some birds migrate between the Thar Desert and the Deccan Tableland, profiting from the monsoon rains in each area.

Opportunistic, exploiting local and seasonal abundance. Grain, shoots and berries, with a particular liking for the drupes of Zizyphus rotundifolia and the crops Eruca sativa and Cicer arietinum; also locusts, grasshoppers, beetles (including green blister beetles Cantharis tenuicollis), centipedes, lizards and small snakes and mammals. Forms small flocks in winter, when sometimes observed associating with antelopes (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Like A. kori and some other bustards, but unusually among birds, the species sits down to drink (2 Ali, S. and Rahmani, A.R. (1982). Study of Ecology of Certain Endangered Species of Wildlife and their Habitats. The Great Indian Bustard. Annual Report 1 (1981-82). Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. Close ).

Booming moans during display (a single bellowing "hROOoom" lasting c. 4 seconds) (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) which become shorter (c. 2 seconds), more abrupt, barking or bellowing "HOom" notes in alarm (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Occurs throughout year, varying with area and rainfall, e.g. chiefly Mar–Jun in N of range, Aug–Oct in W Deccan, Aug–Jan in E Deccan. Courtship behaviour sometimes observed on moonlit nights, as well as by day (3 Rahmani, A.R. (1984). Return of the Great Indian Bustard. Hornbill 3: 7-14. Close ); displaying male inflates white-feathered gular pouch (which almost reaches to ground), folds tail over back and struts about with drooped wings and head held high, periodically calling (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Nest is a shallow, sometimes sparsely lined scrape, often with virtually no adjacent cover. Normally one egg, rarely two; incubation period c. 27 days; chick has buff-coloured down with black or brown markings on head and back, broad pale supercilium and pale throat with dark outline (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); fledging takes 35–40 days, but young bird remains with female until start of next breeding season. Female reputed to transport chick clasped under the wing, but definitive observations required to prove this (4 Falzone, C.K. (1992). First observations of chick carrying behavior by the Buff-crested Bustard. Wilson Bull.. 104(1): 190–192. Close ).

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. CITES I. In 19th century ranged from E Pakistan, in Sind and Punjab, E to W Bengal, and S to C Tamil Nadu; in recent times very rare in Pakistan. Total population in early 1990s estimated to number 1500–2000 birds, mainly in Rajasthan with 500–1000 birds, remainder scattered mostly through parts of W India, and species had been extirpated from 90% of its former range BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Has since declined to just c. 300–350 individuals (perhaps as few as 200 (5 Collar, N.J., Patil, P.S. and Bhardwaj, G.S. (2015). What can save the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps? BirdingASIA. 23: 15–24. Close )) within an overall range of 570,000 km² in 2008 (6 Dutta, S., Rahmani, A.R., and Jhala, Y.V. (2011). Running out of time? The great Indian bustard Ardeotis nigriceps—status, viability, and conservation strategies. European Journal of Wildlife Research. 57(3): 615-625. Close ) BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. , of which Rajasthan, where small-scale awareness programme initiated in 1990s (7 Vyas, R. and Singh, B. (1998). Raising awareness of the plight of the Indian Bustard in Rajastan, India. Bulletin of the Oriental Bird Club 28: 7-8. Close ), has support from local communities (8 Rahmani, A. (2002). The deteriorating status of the Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 35: 45-47. Close ), still harbours largest numbers (c.175 birds), with smaller populations (<30 birds) in Gujarat, NC & W Maharashtra and W Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and >5 birds in N Madhya Pradesh (6 Dutta, S., Rahmani, A.R., and Jhala, Y.V. (2011). Running out of time? The great Indian bustard Ardeotis nigriceps—status, viability, and conservation strategies. European Journal of Wildlife Research. 57(3): 615-625. Close ) BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . During the 1990s the species was completely lost from two sanctuaries (Karera and Sorsan) specifically established to protect the species and declined within other protected areas, which led to questions as to whether the protected areas approach is appropriate for this bustard and to calls for a Project Bustard, to coordinate conservation action on behalf of A. nigriceps and to use it as a flagship species for grassland preservation in the Indian Subcontinent (8 Rahmani, A. (2002). The deteriorating status of the Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 35: 45-47. Close ). Within Maharashtra, numbers have even fallen in the Bustard Sanctuary, with the 2010 census recording just nine individuals, and breeding not recorded there since 2007 at least BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . In Kachchh the last population estimate is <20 birds at densities of 0·05 per km² within c. 400 km² of suitable habitat BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Probably close to disappearing from Karnataka (9 Kumara, H.N. and Mohan Raj, V.V. (2007). The Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps: are they disappearing in Karnataka? Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 104(2): 211-212. Close ), and is thought to have already been completely lost from the states of Haryana, Punjab, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, India, but some apparently survive, and are hunted, in Sind, Pakistan, where 49 birds hunted of 63 seen over a period of four years BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Hunting considered chief cause of decline, but habitat loss and disturbance (as a result of widespread agricultural expansion and mechanization of farming, infrastructural development including irrigation, roads, electric poles, wind turbines and constructions, mining and industrialization, and even well-intentioned but ill-informed habitat management BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. ), probably underestimated in the past, are certainly key factors now, with nest failure commonly attributed to cattle trampling eggs or simply keeping female off nest; nests often predated by House Crows (Corvus splendens). Feral dogs may stress birds and directly predate eggs, nestlings and adults, even within national parks (5 Collar, N.J., Patil, P.S. and Bhardwaj, G.S. (2015). What can save the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps? BirdingASIA. 23: 15–24. Close ). Relative importance of multiple threats is not clear, hampering conservation strategies (5 Collar, N.J., Patil, P.S. and Bhardwaj, G.S. (2015). What can save the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps? BirdingASIA. 23: 15–24. Close ). Traditionally, grasslands and scrub have been considered wasteland and the Forest Department policy, until recently, was to convert them to forests by planting fuel/fodder shrub/tree species, including exotics, resulting in further loss of habitat BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Egg-collecting rampant in many states during early 19th century, and prevails very sporadically in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Nevertheless, at current levels, hunting alone might seal the fate of even the largest remaining populations BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2015. . Low genetic diversity is a further cause for concern (10 Ishtiaq, F., Dutta, S., Yumnam, B. and Jhala, Y.V. (2011). Low genetic diversity in the endangered great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) across India and implications for conservation. Conservation Genetics. 12(3): 857-863. Close ). Ex situ captive breeding programme has been suggested, but without major effort on the part of national government to strengthen in situ conservation by enforcing protected area regulations, this is unlikely to succeed (5 Collar, N.J., Patil, P.S. and Bhardwaj, G.S. (2015). What can save the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps? BirdingASIA. 23: 15–24. Close ) (11 Dolman, P.M., Collar, N.J., Scotland, K.M., Burnside, R.J. (2015). Ark or park: the need to predict relative effectiveness of ex situ and in situ conservation before attempting captive breeding. Journal of Applied Ecology. 52(4): 841–850. Close ). Most promising area for in situ efforts is around Desert National Park, Rajasthan, where 100–125 birds survive. Although southern two-thirds of park no longer harbour the species, and have no wildlife value, villagers in northern section appear to favour a conservation programme that would involve relocation, capacity building and tourism development. A 30-point plan for immediate action to save the species is provided by Collar et al. (2015) (5 Collar, N.J., Patil, P.S. and Bhardwaj, G.S. (2015). What can save the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps? BirdingASIA. 23: 15–24. Close ).