African Houbara

Chlamydotis undulata

VulnerableRareOmnivoreDesertScrapeHuge · 1.5 kg

About the African Houbara

The African houbara, also known as the houbara bustard, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. There is a population in the Canary Islands which was assessed as Near Threatened in 2015, but has since also been assessed as Vulnerable.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

The African houbara is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures 55–75 cm (22–30 in) in length and spans 135–170 cm (53–67 in) across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the long wings show large areas of black and brown on the flight feathers. The sexes are similar, but the female, between 55–65 cm (22–26 in) tall, is rather smaller and greyer above than the male, at 65–75 cm (26–30 in) tall. The body mass is 1.8–3.2 kg (4.0–7.1 lb) in males and 1.2–1.7 kg (2.6–3.7 lb) in females.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What the African Houbara sounds like

Recording: Larbi Badaoui · CC0 · via xeno-canto

Where it lives

Regular range

When to see it

Peak activity in February · a resident species across most of its range

Easily confused with

Learn the African Houbara for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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