Bustards
With their large size and gorgeous plumage, bustards are truly iconic species of the grasslands of North Africa. Although not yet considered to be endangered, bustard populations are under pressure and as such need to be considered conservation dependent species.
Bustards are large, ground-dwelling birds that prefer to walk rather than fly. Just like ostrich, where walking has superseded flying, resulting in a subsequent reduction in the number of toes, so the bustard has lost its hind toe to facilitate walking.
They are omnivorous, eating a large range of items, from lizards and crickets to ants, and the ripe seedheads of panicum grass. As major consumers of grasshoppers and locusts, bustards play a critically important role in keeping potentially hazardous crop pests in check.
In the Sahel, most if not all the bustards, migrate locally to some extent. During the hot season, the Nubian bustard will typically move south from its sub-Saharan range, occupying rangelands usually dominated by the Arabian bustard. Of the Sahel’s larger bustards, Denham’s undertakes the most significant migrations. During the Chadian summer, Denham’s bustards arrive in large numbers from the savannas of central Africa.
The bustard’s nest is a simple scrape on the ground, partially screened amongst tussocks of grass or under low-branched shrubs and trees.
In the vast open plains and grasslands of the Sahara and Sahel, the bustards’ brown and sandy coloration aids them blend into their surroundings, helping them avoid detection and attack from both aerial and terrestrial predators. Predators include a host of small carnivores, including jackals, honey badgers and pale fox, and birds of prey like brown-necked ravens, eagles, etc.
Denham’s Bustard
Scientific name:
Neotis denhami
IUCN Red list status:
Near threatened
How many left in the wild:
Population decreasing
Geographic distribution:
Africa
Nubian Bustard
Scientific name:
Neotis nuba
IUCN Red list status:
Near threatened
How many left in the wild:
Population decreasing
Geographic distribution:
Across Sahelian and, marginally, Saharan zones
Arabian Bustard
Scientific name:
Ardeotis arabs
IUCN Red list status:
Near threatened
How many left in the wild:
Population decreasing
Geographic distribution:
Mainly Sahelian zone, Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Threats and challenges
Decades ago, six species of bustard could be found in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (OROAFR), namely Arabian bustard (Ardeotis arabs), Denham’s bustard (Neotis denhami), Nubian bustard (Neotis nuba), Black-bellied bustard (Lissotis melanogaster), White-bellied bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis) and Savile’s bustard (Lophotis savilei). However, no record of the last three species since the 1970s. Only the Arabian, Nubian and Denham’s bustards can now be regularly observed in the reserve.
Although not yet considered to be endangered, i.e., falling into the higher threat categories of the IUCN Red Data List, bustard populations are under pressure and as such need to be considered conservation dependent species. Habitat loss and degradation are real issues, with many parts of the Sahel-Sahara grasslands subject to overgrazing, conversion to agriculture, and chronic bushfires.
Hunting pressure on bustard populations has also evolved significantly over recent decades. Traditionally, the larger bustards were hunted for food. Throwing sticks, spears, and bows and arrows were used, as were foot-nooses made of plaited hair from the tails of horses laid on or near nests.
In recent decades, the bustards of the Sahel and Sahara, particularly the Arab and Nubian bustards in Sudan, Chad, Niger, and Mali, and the houbara bustard in North Africa, have been exposed to significant pressure from hunting parties from the Arabian Peninsula. Although only “armed” with falcons, and occasionally saluki hunting dogs, the size of the hunting parties, with their sophisticated transport and communications, can lead to significant and unsustainable offtake in a very short time.
Our actions for bustards conservation
Since 2011, we have been regularly carrying out line transect surveys, with the Wildlife and Protected Areas Directorate, and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), focusing on the same 3,000 km2 block in the center of OROAFR in Chad, to document estimates of seasonal variation in population density for the three bustard species.
In 2016, with cooperation from the Abu Dhabi-based International Fund for Houbara Conservation, Sahara Conservation successfully captured and tagged nine adult Arabian bustards in Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger, to monitor their local movements and survivorship.
Lately, in partnership with the Swiss Ornithological Institute and ZSL, we have initiated a first mission to assess the situation of bustards in the OROAFR in order to develop a specific conservation program for these endangered birds.
