Arabian Bustard

The word bustard comes from the Old French bistarda and some other languages: abetarda (Portuguese, Galician), and avutarda (Español) used for the great bustard. The naturalist William Turner listed the English spelling "bustard" and "bistard" in 1544.

All of the common names above are derived from Latin avis tarda or aves tardas "slowed bird" given by Pliny the Elder, these names were mentioned by Pierre Belon in 1555 and Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1600. The word tarda comes from tardus in Latin meaning "slow" and "deliberate", which is apt to describe the typical walking style of the species.

• Singular: bustard

• Plural: bustards

The male Arabian bustard is significantly larger than the female, as is the case with all bustards. Females weigh 4.5–7.7 kg (9.9–17.0 lb), whereas males weigh 5.7–10.9 kg (13–24 lb). With a maximum mass of 16.8 kg (37 lb), the record-sized male Arabian bustard is one of the biggest flying birds on the planet. The height of these birds ranges from 70 cm (28 in) for females to 92 cm (36 in) for males.

With a brown body, gray neck, and white underside, they resemble the Kori bustard in appearance, but they are notably smaller and have a more refined, thin structure. Another difference is that, unlike other large African bustards, they have a white checkered covert pattern at the end of the folded wing instead of different black-and-white patterns.

The bustards are related to the arboreal cuckoos and turacos based on the genome analysis.

Four subspecies are recognised:

• Ardeotis arabs lynesi (Bannerman, 1930) – west Morocco

• Ardeotis arabs stieberi (Neumann, 1907) – southwest Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to east Sudan

• Ardeotis arabs arabs (Linnaeus, 1758) – Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia

• Ardeotis arabs butleri (Bannerman, 1930) – south Sudan

Bustards travel methodically on strong legs and huge toes, pecking for food as they go. Most prefer to run or walk over fly. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and stunning patterns in flight.

This is a ground-dwelling species of undisturbed primary, evergreen, humid forest. It occurs from sea-level to 1,200 m but is most frequently encountered below 800 m. It seems to prefer steep slopes and dark areas with much leaf-litter and little herbaceous growth. The brown mesite is a humid forest species, it forages by walking through the forest floor flicking over leaf-litter in order to find invertebrates, often in family groups of two to three individuals, also gleaning from leaves and stems at ground-level. The nest is built 1-1.5 m from the ground; the clutch-size is one.

Compared to bustard males, they are more social and philopatric, and they frequently spend their whole lives in their birthplace. Male bustards form a group hierarchy during the winter and engage in violent, protracted battles, occasionally seriously injuring other males or humans by stabbing them in the head and neck.

The Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti) and the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen) are home to the Arabian bustard. Open savannas, sparse shrublands, and semi-arid grasslands were the bustard's primary habitats. Although it can occur at modest elevations, this bustard's altitude restriction was primarily lowland.

• Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 2,500-9,999

• Locomotion: Aerial

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Volcano; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Ghana; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; South Sudan; Sudan; Yemen

  • Possibly Extinct: Morocco; Nigeria

  • Extant & Vagrant (Non-breeding): Algeria; Gambia; Kenya; Somalia

  • Extant & Origin Uncertain (Resident): Guinea-Bissau

• Sawintir: 

  • Extant: Galdiz; Khaldoun; Napurna; Nueva Vista Confederacy; Oz; Kingdom of Nueva Rosas; Tangu; Wei-Ling; Zumaria

All bustard species were tranquilized with gunshots, fed while unconscious, then repeatedly overdosed on opiates. Alternatively, survivors must steal the bustard's egg and tame it. When these eggs hatch, the infants must be fed any form of seed or live worms, which can be obtained from a variety of locations.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_bustard

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22691924/129917069

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Arabian-Bustard-1116107090