Bustard

The word bustard comes from the Old French and some other languages: (Portuguese), (Galician), (Spanish) 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 or given by Pliny the Elder, these names were mentioned by the Pierre Belon in 1555 and Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1600. The word tarda comes from in Latin meaning "slow" and "deliberate", which is apt to describe the typical walking style of the species. Floricans Some Indian bustards are also called floricans. The origin of the name is unclear. Thomas C. Jerdon writes in The Birds of India (1862): The Hobson-Jobson dictionary, however, casts doubt on this theory stating that == Taxonomy ==

The family Otididae was introduced (as Otidia) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Otididae and before that Otidae come from the genus Otis given to the great bustard by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758, it comes from the Greek word ōtis. }} }} ; Extinct genera • Genus †Gryzaja Zubareva 1939 • †Gryzaja odessana Zubareva 1939 • Genus †Ioriotis Burchak-Abramovich & Vekua 1981 • †Ioriotis gabunii Burchak-Abramovich & Vekua 1981 • Genus †Miootis Umanskaya 1979 • †Miootis compactus Umanskaya 1979 • Genus †Pleotis Hou 1982 • †Pleotis liui Hou 1982 == Description ==

Bustards are all fairly large with the two largest species, the kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) and the great bustard (Otis tarda), being frequently cited as the world's heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of , weigh around on average and can attain a total length of . The smallest species is the little brown bustard (Eupodotis humilis), which is around long and weighs around on average. In most bustards, males are substantially larger than females, often about 30% longer and sometimes more than twice the weight. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds. In only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism the reverse, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than the male. The wings have 10 primaries and 16–24 secondary feathers. There are 18–20 feathers in the tail. The plumage is predominantly cryptic. == Behaviour and ecology ==

Bustards are omnivorous, feeding principally on seeds and invertebrates. They make their nests on the ground, making their eggs and offspring often very vulnerable to predation. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. Most prefer to run or walk over flying. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays, such as inflating throat sacs or elevating elaborate feathered crests. The female lays three to five dark, speckled eggs in a scrape in the ground, and incubates them alone. == Evolution ==

Genetic dating indicates that bustards evolved 30 million years ago in either southern or eastern Africa from where they dispersed into Eurasia and Australia. == Status and conservation ==

Bustards are gregarious outside the breeding season, but are very wary and difficult to approach in the open habitats they prefer. Most species are declining or endangered through habitat loss and hunting, even where they are nominally protected. United Kingdom The birds were once common and abounded on the Salisbury Plain. They had become rare by 1819 when a large male, surprised by a dog on Newmarket Heath, sold in Leadenhall Market for five guineas. The last bustard in Britain died in approximately 1832, but the bird is being reintroduced through batches of chicks imported from Russia. Reintroduced bustards also hatched chicks in 2010. == Notes ==