Great Bustard

The Great Bustard is a huge, heavily built ground bird of open steppe and farmland, among the heaviest of all flying birds, with large males far outweighing females. Both sexes are patterned in warm chestnut-brown barring above with grey heads and necks and white underparts, but males are dramatically larger and, in the breeding season, grow long white whisker-like feathers ("mustaches") from the base of the bill.

During courtship, males perform an extraordinary display, inflating a throat sac and throwing their wing and tail feathers forward and upward until the whole body appears turned inside out in a mass of white plumage, visible from great distances across the open steppe.

Key field marks

• Very large, thickset body with a bulky neck and long legs, walking with a slow, deliberate gait
• Chestnut-brown barred upperparts, grey head and neck, white underparts
• Breeding males show long white "mustache" feathers and are far larger than females
• In flight, shows extensive white wing patches and a slow, powerful wingbeat

Similar species

No other European bird approaches its combination of size and shape; the smaller Little Bustard shares open steppe habitat but is far smaller with a shorter neck and different plumage pattern.

Range

Found in scattered, fragmented populations from Iberia and central Europe eastward across the steppes of Central Asia to Mongolia and China.

Habitat

Requires large expanses of open, undisturbed grassland, steppe, or extensive arable farmland, avoiding wooded or heavily developed landscapes.

Migration

Some populations, particularly in the colder continental interior of Asia, are migratory, moving to milder wintering areas, while others, including most European populations, are largely resident or make only local movements.

Behavior

Spends most of its time on the ground, walking slowly and cautiously across open terrain; wary and easily disturbed, often keeping large distances from potential threats. Gathers in flocks outside the breeding season.

Voice

Generally silent, though low grunting or barking sounds may be given, especially by displaying males.

Feeding

Forages on the ground for a mixed diet of green plant shoots, seeds, and insects, also taking small vertebrates such as lizards or rodents when available.

Nesting and breeding

Males gather at traditional display grounds (leks) to perform their elaborate courtship display; females nest alone on the ground in a shallow scrape, laying 1-3 eggs and receiving no help from the male in incubation or chick-rearing.