How do you identify a Nubian Bustard?

The Nubian bustard is medium-large with pronounced sexual size dimorphism. Full identification notes are on this page.

How big is a Nubian Bustard?

The Nubian Bustard is a huge sized bird weighing about 5.4 kg.

Where can you see a Nubian Bustard?

The Nubian Bustard occurs in 2 countries, including Chad and Niger.

What birds look similar to a Nubian Bustard?

The Nubian Bustard is most easily confused with the Heuglin's Bustard, the Ludwig's Bustard and the Denham's Bustard.

Is the Nubian Bustard endangered?

The Nubian Bustard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Nubian Bustard

Neotis nuba

Bustards · Otidiformes · Legendary

The Nubian Bustard (Neotis nuba) is a legendary bustard found in 2 countries, weighing about 5.4 kg. The Nubian bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family.

VulnerableLegendaryEats invertebratesdesertscrape nest5.4 kg

Nubian Bustard (Neotis nuba), photo 1 — Photo: Cretzschmar, Philipp Jakob; Heyden, Carl Heinrich Georg von; Leuckart, F. S.; Rüppell, Eduard; Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft. · Public domain

About the Nubian Bustard

The Nubian bustard 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, with populations declining due to hunting and habitat degradation.

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

How to identify it

The Nubian bustard is medium-large with pronounced sexual size dimorphism. 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. 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. Voice: Audio recordings are extremely scarce in ornithological sound archives. The calls that have been recorded are reported to be relatively quiet compared to the loud vocalizations characteristic of some other bustard species. and consist of low booming or hooting.

Where it lives

Chad Niger

When to see it

Best months: January, February, March, June, July, September, December, with peak activity in September. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Nubian Bustard?: The Nubian bustard is medium-large with pronounced sexual size dimorphism. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Nubian Bustard?: The Nubian Bustard is a huge sized bird weighing about 5.4 kg.
Where can you see a Nubian Bustard?: The Nubian Bustard occurs in 2 countries, including Chad and Niger.
What birds look similar to a Nubian Bustard?: The Nubian Bustard is most easily confused with the Heuglin's Bustard, the Ludwig's Bustard and the Denham's Bustard.
Is the Nubian Bustard endangered?: The Nubian Bustard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Nubian Bustard 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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