Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)

Other Names (World)
African Houbara, Houbara Bustard, Ruffed Bustard

Family
Otididae (Bustards)

Size
64 - 75 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Jacquin, 1784)

Habitat
Sandy and stony semi-desert, where trees are absent and both shrub cover and herb layer are sparse.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (B) (P), Algeria (B), Armenia (NB), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain (NB) (P), Bhutan (P), China (mainland) (B) (P), Egypt (B), India (NB) (P), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Iraq (B) (NB) (P), Israel (B), Jordan (B) (NB), Kazakhstan (B), Kuwait (P), Kyrgyzstan (B) (P), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (B), Mauritania (B), Mongolia (B), Morocco (B), Nepal (P), Oman (B) (NB) (P), Pakistan (B), Palestinian Authority Territories (NB), Qatar (NB), Russia (European) (B), Saudi Arabia (B) (NB) (P), Spain (B) (NB), Syrian Arab Republic (B) (NB) (P), Tajikistan (NB), Tunisia (B), Turkey (E) (B), Turkmenistan (B), United Arab Emirates (NB) (P), Uzbekistan (B) (P), Yemen (B) (NB).

Vagrant to Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon (P), Malta, Netherlands Antilles, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (Central Asian), Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Population
Estimated population is 49,000 - 62,000 (2010) and decreasing.

Status VU
Habitat loss and degradation caused by tourist facilities, off-road vehicles, military exercises, overgrazing, sand extraction, powerlines and road development, and collision with powerlines, possible nest predation by introduced mammals, and illegal hunting are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Invertebrates, small vertebrates and green shoots.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files

Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) [XC808830]
by Larbi Badaoui from Naama, Naama, Na\u00e2ma Province, Algeria (alarm call, cri de la femelle assise sur les \u0153ufs \u00f4 nids, apr\u00e8s une alerte)

Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) [XC644134]
by id from Naama, Naama, Na\u00e2ma Province, Algeria (alarm call)

Subspecies
Apparently close to Neotis. Recent work suggests that subspecies macqueenii might merit treatment as separate species.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

fuertaventurae (Rothschild & Hartert, 1894) - Eastern Canary Is.
undulata (Jacquin, 1784) - Northern Africa, east to north-central Egypt.
macqueenii (J. E. Gray, 1832) - Nile Valley of Egypt to Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Macqueen's Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Houbara Bustard see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Houbara Bustard

If you would like to read any articles about the Houbara Bustard...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Houbara Bustard

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Houbara Bustard or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Houbara Bustard

If Birdpedia has no videos of Houbara Bustard or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)

Where can I observe this species?

Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area

All

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	Find GPS using Google Maps

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

On What Field Trips was this species observed?

Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area

All

From	To

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

Latest Sightings for Houbara Bustard