Nubian bustard

The Nubian bustard (Neotis nuba) is a species of bird in the bustard family. This is a medium-large bustard, found in the sparsely vegetated interface between the southern margins of the Sahara desert and the northern part of the Sahel. It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Formerly common in this region, it is now very rare.^[3]

Nubian bustard
Nubian bustard in Niger
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Otidiformes
Family:	Otididae
Genus:	Neotis
Species:	N. nuba
Binomial name
Neotis nuba (Cretzschmar, 1826)

Description

In this species, males average around 5.4 kg (12 lb) weight and around 70 cm (28 in) length and 180 cm (71 in) wingspan. Females are much smaller at around 50 cm (20 in) in length and 140 cm (55 in) wingspan; their weight is not recorded.^[4][5] It is smaller than the sympatric Arabian bustard, as well as more rufous with a different body shape. Compared to larger bustards, the Nubian bustard has a more rounded body, a relatively long, thin neck, and a rounded head.

Life history

Observation of breeding has occurred from July to October have been reported across the species' range.

Young birds and eggs are threatened by a wider range of predators, including mammalian carnivores and reptiles.

Conservation

Currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, its main threats are hunting (particularly by wealthy Arab falconers) and habitat loss through overgrazing.^[6][3][5][1] It is now very rare, and remains little-known; major declines were reported between surveys in the early 1970s and 2004,^[3] and surveys across several hundred kilometres in Mauritania in 2012 failed to find any.^[7] An uprating of its status to at least Vulnerable may be needed.^[7]