bustard

/bus"teuhrd/, n.

any of several large, chiefly terrestrial and ground-running birds of the family Otididae, of the Old World and Australia, related to the cranes.

[1425-75; late ME, appar. b. MF bistarde (OIt bistarda) and MF oustarde, both < L avis tarda (Pliny) lit., slow bird, though tarda may be a non-L word, taken erroneously as fem. of tardus]

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Any of about 23 species of medium-sized to large game birds in the family Otididae, related to the cranes and rails in the order Gruiformes.

Bustards are found in Africa, southern Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Guinea. A tall running bird, they have long legs, a compact body carried in a horizontal position, and an erect neck placed forward of the legs. The best-known species is the great bustard (Otis tarda), the largest European land bird. Males of this species weigh as much as 31 lbs (14 kg) and reach lengths of 4 ft (1.2 m), with 8-ft (2.4-m) wingspreads.

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▪ bird

      any of numerous medium-to large-sized game birds of the family Otididae, related to the cranes and rails in the order Gruiformes. There are about 23 species, confined to Africa, southern Europe, Asia, Australia, and part of New Guinea. Bustards have rather long legs, adapted to running. They have only three toes, lacking the hind toe (hallux). The body is compact, carried in a rather horizontal position, and the neck stands erect, forward of the legs, in the manner of other tall running birds.

      The best known bustard is the great bustard (Otis tarda), largest European land bird, the male weighing as much as 14 kilograms (31 pounds) and having a 120-centimetre (4-foot) length and a 240-centimetre (8-foot) wingspread. It is found in grainfields and open steppes from central and southern Europe to Central Asia and Manchuria. The sexes are similar in coloration, being grayish above, barred with black and brown, and whitish below. The male is stouter and has whitish, bristly feathers at the base of the bill. A wary bird, the great bustard is difficult to approach, running swiftly when endangered. On land it assumes a stately gait; on the wing, it displays a relatively slow but powerful and sustained flight. The spring courtship ceremonies are characteristic: the cock's head is bent back almost touching the uplifted tail, and the throat pouch is inflated. Two or three eggs, olive blotched with brown, are laid in a shallow excavation sheltered by low vegetation.

      The little bustard (Otis tetrax) ranges from western Europe and Morocco to Afghanistan. The bustards of South Africa are known as paauw, the largest being the great paauw or kori bustard (Ardeotis kori). The Arabian bustard (A. arabs) is found in Morocco and in northern tropical Africa south of the Sahara, as are a number of species belonging to several other genera. In Australia the bustard Choriotis australis is called turkey.

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