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Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax (Hartert, 1916)
Classification
Vernacular names: Chotta tiloor, Obāra (Punjab), Chărăz (Baluchi)
Identification characteristics: Male: Crown and upperparts finely vermiculated sandy buff. Face blue-grey. Neck (all around black), distinctly patterned like a white loosely hanging necklace with a prominent black-and-white pectoral collar below it. Rest of the under parts are white. Female: Above sandy buff with the head and neck streaked with black and buff. Below chin and throat whitish; breast pale buff irregularly barred with black crescentic markings; rest of the underparts are white.
Distribution & population: Tetrax tetrax has two widely separated breeding populations. In its eastern range it occurs in Russia (9,000 displaying males), Georgia (60 non-breeding individuals), Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (c. 20,000 individuals), Ukraine (100-110 individuals), north-west China, northern Iran and Turkey (20-100 pairs). Its western range covers Spain (43,000-71,700 individuals, including 20,000-25,000 males, down from 100,000-200,000 males in the 1990s) and Portugal (c. 17,500 displaying males), with smaller populations in Italy (1,515-2,220 individuals), France (1,487-1,677 displaying males in 2004) and Morocco. Eastern populations winter from Turkey and the Caucasus to Iran, and erratically elsewhere in south Asia, with Azerbaijan holding the main wintering quarters (over 150,000 individuals in 2005-2006). Western populations winter in the Mediterranean zone, with the Iberian peninsula holding the most important wintering puarters (a minimum of 16,429-35-929 and 11,200 individuals in Spain and Portugal, respectively). The global population (excluding Kazakhstan) was estimated at a minimum of c. 240,000 individuals in the late 1990s, but it may be substantially lower than this, due to the re-evaluation of the size of the Spanish population. Whilst it remains widespread and numerous, in some parts of its range it has declined dramatically since the 19th century, leading to extinctions in at least 11 European countries, Algeria, Tunisia and probably as a breeding bird in Azerbaijan. The species has now disappeared from mainland Italy, where it occurred in Apulia, and it is presently declining in France and Spain. In Portugal, the population appears to be stable, and eastern populations are said to have increased in recent years. The population in the Eurasian steppe belt is thought to have recovered due to an increase in fallow land during the transition process of the former Soviet Union.
Habitat: This species inhabits dry grassland and, in Europe, it also occurs in areas of low-intensity arable cultivation and pastoral land, selecting areas with a high diversity of ground cover such as mosaics of pasture, long-rotation fallow land and legume crops. Wintering birds in Azerbaijan prefer semi-desert and steppe areas under winter pasturing, and avoid areas of intensive agriculture.
Food: Chiefly vegetarian, eats shoots, leaves and grain. Also feeds on insects and small animals.
Habits: Usually keeps in small parties of 3 or 4, sometimes upto a dozen birds. Lies close in cover, but when flushed is easy to shoot. Its called the Butterfly Houbara from its peculiar vagaries in flight which is otherwise storng and direct attained by very rapid wingbeats and reminiscent of both partridge and florican. The bird often rises to a height and turns and twists erratically before resuming a straight course.
Breeding: Extraimital. Season – May to July
Threats: The primary cause of its decline has been conversion of dry grassland and low-intensity cultivation to intensive arable agriculture, especially where this has included the planting of monocultures or perennial crops, irrigation or afforestation. The fragmentation of traditional habitats, by means of agricultural intensification or infrastructure development, negatively affects habitat availability and quality for the species, as well as male density. The use of pesticides could reduce food availability. This continues to be the primary threat and cause of continuing declines. It also suffers from illegal hunting, although this is a minor threat. The collision of birds with overhead powerlines is a locally important cause of mortality. The release of farm-reared gamebirds could eventually introduce new pathogens to wild populations of T. tetrax. In Azerbaijan, the main threats are disturbance from intensive land use (mainly heavy grazing), habitat loss to infrastructure development and probably hunting.
Conservation measures underway: CITES Appendix II. A European action plan was published in 2001. The species has been the subject of several LIFE Nature projects in Portugal, Spain and France. Different methods of adjusting agri-environmental schemes to the species's ecological requirements were developed and tested. The number of protected areas established in steppe habitats in those countries has increased.
Conservation measures proposed: Carry out coordinated surveys to obtain an up-to-date estimate for the total population. Continue to conduct surveys to monitor population trends. Preserve habitat and alter land-use practices through EU and national policies. Work with land-owners to manage land favourably and reduce hunting. Reduce hunting pressure through awareness campaigns. Ensure fields with permanent cover on arable land through agri-environmental schemes using rotations and fallow land. Eliminate dangerous powerlines. Photo gallery: From OBI: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?action=searchresult&Bird_ID=832
Information compiled from:
Internet sites: Books:
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