Little Bustard
Tetrax tetrax
A small brownish bustard with long legs and neck. May crouch if disturbed but when flushed, explodes noisily into a grouselike flight with whirring wings. Striking white wings with black tips are prominent in flight. Breeding-plumaged males are distinctive with black neck and double V-shaped white collar. Usually fairly quiet and unobtrusive. Found in open plains with shrubs and sufficient ground cover to hide in.
Identification
Although the smallest Palearctic bustard, the little bustard is still pheasant-sized at 42–45 cm (17–18 in) long with a 90–110 cm (35–43 in) wingspan and a weight of 830 g (29 oz). In flight, the long wings are extensively white. The breeding male is brown above and white below, with a grey head and a black neck bordered above and below by white.<p>The female and non-breeding male lack the dramatic neck pattern, and the female is marked darker below than the male. Immature bustards resemble females. Both sexes are usually silent, although the male has a distinctive "raspberry-blowing" call: prrt.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tetrax tetrax
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Otidiformes
- Family
- Otididae
- Genus
- Tetrax
Range and habitat
It breeds in Southern Europe and in Western and Central Asia. Southernmost European birds are mainly resident, but other populations migrate further south in winter. The central European population once breeding in the grassland of Hungary became extinct several decades ago. The species is declining due to habitat loss throughout its range. It used to breed more widely, for example ranging north to Poland occasionally. It is only a very rare vagrant to Great Britain despite breeding in France.On 20 December 2013, the Cypriot newspapers 'Fileleftheros' and 'Politis', as well as news website 'SigmaLive', reported the discovery of a dead little bustard in the United Nations Buffer Zone. The bird had been shot by poachers hunting illegally in the zone. The shooting was particularly controversial amongst conservationists and birders since the little bustard is a very rare visitor to Cyprus and had not been officially recorded in Cyprus since December 1979. The bird's habitat is open grassland and undisturbed cultivation, with plants tall enough for cover. Males and females do not differ markedly in habitat selection. It has a stately slow walk, and tends to run when disturbed rather than fly. It is gregarious, especially in winter.<p>Tracking of male Little Bustards has revealed that they are nocturnal migrants that make frequent stopovers in non-irrigated and irrigated croplands to reach more productive agricultural post-breeding areas.
- Breeding range
- PAL : sw Europe and nw Africa to c Asia
- Non-breeding range
- n AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Waller's Starling
Onychognathus walleri
A medium-sized starling with a fairly short, squared-off tail. The base color is blue-black, and females show a gray head and breast. The wings have a large red patch that is conspicuous in flight. Found in the canopy of montane forest. Often forms flocks. Gives a variety of sweet, whistling calls. Similar to Kenrick’s Starling, but larger and chunkier, with a red eye. Also has a shorter tail than other red-winged starlings.
Pale-vented Pigeon
Patagioenas cayennensis
Large pigeon of marshy savannas, riversides, open areas with scattered trees, locally even in towns, such as Villahermosa, Mexico. Gray head contrasts with pinkish body, and whitish belly does not contrast strongly with plain grayish tail; compare darker Red-billed Pigeon, which often occurs in same areas but prefers drier and more forested habitats. Also note black bill of Pale-vented, and subtly distinctive song: after long introductory coo, repeated phrase is typically a 3-syllable "who’koo-koo", unlike 4-syllable "oo’koo-koo-koo" of Red-billed.
Barred Antthrush
Chamaeza mollissima
Compact brown bird with a stubby black bill. Warm reddish brown with heavy black-and-white barring on the undersides, face, and eyebrow. Walks around the ground in dense montane forest with a springy gait, bobbing its tail up and down with each slow step. Exceptionally timid bird heard far more often than seen; listen for its long hooting song, an accelerating series of low toots.
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