Latest Otididae Stories
An Arizona State University biologist and her team have found that the Asian subspecies of great bustard, one of the heaviest birds capable of flight, covers migratory routes of more than 2,000 miles, traveling to and from its breeding grounds in northern Mongolia and wintering grounds in Shaanxi province in China. The research study, which is available online and will be published in the next volume of the Journal of Avian Biology, is the first of its kind to monitor the movement of this...
The early burn out of the male Bustard may explain how biological aging evolvedFor male houbara bustards sexual extravagance is the key to attracting mates in some of the world's harshest desert environments. However, new research in Ecology Letters reveals that males who perform the most extravagant sexual displays will suffer from premature biological aging and will pass their reproductive prime years earlier than their less ostentatious rivals.Houbara bustards, Chlamydotis undulata, are...
Up until now it was unknown whether males of the great bustard (Otis tarda), an emblematic bird in Spain and endangered at a global level, transmit information on their weight, size, and age through their plumage. For the first time a study shows that the 'beards' and the design of the neck are "reliable" indicators of the weight and age of their bearers, and are used to both avoid fights with competitors and to attract females."The heaviest males (best physical condition) make...
Even brooding female birds are sensitive to visual stimulationIn a breeding experiment with Houbara bustards - a North African bird species with a very distinctive courtship behavior, scientists have concluded that visual stimulation from attractive males of the same species positively affects brooding females, improving offspring growth. Females that observed highly displaying male birds in the experiment were more fertile and had a greater breeding success due to an increased allocation of...
In Botswana, conservationists fear that the pesticide used by the government to prevent birds from ravaging commercial crops might kill other species. Officials are using aerial sprays to target breeding places of the quelea in Panadamatenga in northern Botswana, where there have been reports of birds destroying 20 tons of corn a day.Keddy Mooketsa, Birdlife Botswana project manager, said the quelea, which gather together in flocks, were causing trouble as they breed quickly, but the...
BOMBAY, India -- Carrying binoculars and notebooks, thousands of nature lovers and conservationists scoured semiarid grasslands of western India Sunday to count a bird considered on the brink of extinction. The Great Indian Bustard is long-legged with a black crown on its forehead and stands up to 3 1/2 feet tall. It breeds in grassy plains in western India and its dwindling numbers are the first warning that the grasslands are deteriorating. "Never before has a census been done on such...
Latest Otididae Reference Libraries
The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is a species of bird of the bustard family. It is found in southern and central Europe, where it is the largest species of bird. It is also found across much of temperate Asia. Populations in Europe are mainly resident, but the Asian population move further south for the winter months. It is declining due to habitat loss through much of its range. It is extinct on the British Isles, and in the Bărăgan region of Romania. There are still large populations...
