Great Indian bustard

Appearance

The great Indian bustard is a large ground bird with a height of about one metre. It is unmistakable with its black cap contrasting with the pale head and neck. The body is brownish with a black patch spotted in white. The male is deep sandy buff coloured and during the breeding season has a black breast band. The crown of the head is black and crested and is puffed up by displaying males. In the female which is smaller than the male, the head and neck are not pure white and the breast band is either rudimentary, broken or absent.

Among bustards, this species is smaller only than the Kori bustard and the great bustard in size. It is also the largest land bird in its native range. The great Indian bustard stands at about 1 m tall, having a somewhat long neck and quite long legs. The female as in most members of the bustard family are typically considerably smaller.

Males have a well-developed gular pouch which is inflated when calling during display and helps produce the deep resonant calls.

Abnormally leucistic or near albino birds have been reported.

Distribution

This species was formerly widespread in India and Pakistan. The bustard is critically endangered in Pakistan primarily due to lack of protection and rampant hunting. A few birds were detected in a September 2013 survey of the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan.

In India, the bird was historically found in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Today the bustard is restricted to isolated pockets in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Great Indian bustards make local movements but these are not well understood although it is known that populations disperse after the monsoons. Males are said to be solitary during the breeding season but form small flocks in winter. Males may however distribute themselves close together and like other bustards they are believed to use a mating system that has been termed as an "exploded or dispersed lek". The male is polygamous.

Behavior

The great Indian bustard is omnivorous. Apparently, insects, consisting mainly of Orthoptera, but also beetles, are preferred in the diet. Alternatively, they will take grass seeds, berries, rodents and reptiles. In cultivated areas, they feed on crops such as exposed groundnut, millets and pods of legumes.

They drink water if it is available and will sometimes sit down to drink or suck water followed by raising up their heads at an angle. When threatened, hens are said to carry young chicks under the wing. Young birds have been recorded to dust-bathe frequently.

Habitat

The habitat where it is most often found is arid and semi-arid grasslands, open country with thorn scrub, tall grass interspersed with cultivation. It avoids irrigated areas. The major areas where they are known to breed are in central and western India and eastern Pakistan. The dry semi-desert regions where it was found in parts of Rajasthan has been altered by irrigation canals that have transformed the region into an intensively farmed area.The great Indian bustard is omnivorous. Apparently, insects, consisting mainly of Orthoptera, but also beetles, are preferred in the diet. Alternatively, they will take grass seeds, berries, rodents and reptiles. In cultivated areas, they feed on crops such as exposed groundnut, millets and pods of legumes.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs between March and September, when the inflated fluffy white feathers of the male are inflated and displayed. Territorial fights between males may involve strutting next to each other, leaping against each other with legs against each other and landing down to lock the opponent's head under their neck. During courtship display, the male inflates the gular sac which opens under the tongue, inflating it so that a large wobbly bag appears to hang down from the neck. The tail is held cocked up over the body. The male also raises the tail and folds it on its back. The male periodically produces a resonant deep, booming call that may be heard for nearly 500m. The female lays a single egg in an unlined scrape on the ground. Only the females are involved in incubation and care of the young. The eggs are at risk of destruction from other animals particularly ungulates and crows. Females may use a distraction display that involves flying zigzag with dangling legs.