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The Arabian Bustard (Ardeotis arabs) is a species of bustard which is found across the Sahel region of Africa and south western Arabia. It is part of the large-bodied genus, Ardeotis, and, though little known, appears to be a fairly typical species in that group.
Habitat
Semi desert and arid grassy plains, also "Acacia" woodlands.
Distribution
It is found in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It is a vagrant to Kenya, Gambia, northern Ivory Coast and northern Ghana.
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net
is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Subspecies
The following subspecies of Arabian Bustard are currently recognised.
• Ardeotis arabs arabs: Ethiopia to north western Somalia, south western Saudi Arabia and western Yemen
• Ardeotis arabs lynesi: western Morocco (probably extinct)
• Ardeotis arabs stieberi: south western Mauritania and Senegambia to north eastern Sudan
• Ardeotis arabs butleri: southern Sudan; single record for north western Kenya
Ardeotis arabs - MHNT
By Roger Culos - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80591168
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80591168
Ardeotis arabs lynesi - MHNT
By Roger Culos - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80835706
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80835706
Description
As in all bustards, the male Arabian Bustard is much larger than the female. Males have been found to weigh 5.7–10.9 kg, while females weigh 4.5–7.7 kg. The record-sized male Arabian Bustard weighed 16.8 kg. These birds stand from 70 cm tall in females to 92 cm tall in males.
Length:
Male 100 cm
Female 75
Wingspan:
205 - 250 cm
Weight:
5,7 - 10,9 kg
Longevity:
Distinctive Feature
•
Similar Species
They are fairly similar in overall appearance to the kori bustard, with a brown body, gray neck and white underside, but are noticeably smaller, with a more elegant, slender build. They are also differ in having white checkered covert pattern at the end of the folded wing, as opposed to various black-and-white patterns as seen in other large African bustards.
Habits
The Arabian Bustard is usually solitary or lives in pairs and family parties. Small flocks have been observed migrating north into the Sahel zone, to breed during the rainy season before returning south when the dry season begins. However the population in Morocco was considered sedentary, as is the population in the Arabian Peninsula. On these movements the Arabian Bustard has been known to migrate with Denham's bustards.
The clutch size of Arabian Bustards is one to two eggs, laid in a shallow scrape on the ground. The females have sole responsibility for incubation of the eggs and rearing the young. When the brood is threatened, the females has been observed to demonstrate diversionary behaviour, e.g. calling, refusing to flee, to distract potential predators from chicks.
Arabian Bustards are reported to catch and eat locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, reptiles, and small mammals. They have also been recorded feeding on the seeds and fruits of shrubs, such as Cordia sinensis, Grewia villosa, Salvadora persica and wild melon Citrullus as well as "Acacia" gum. In Chobe National Park (Botswana), Arabian Bustards are sometimes found with southern carmine bee-eaters (Merops nubicoides) and northern carmine bee-eaters (Merops nubicus) riding on their backs.
Listen to the Arabian Bustard
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
Remarks from the Recordist
a single call from a bird flushing off the ground of heavily grazed grasslands with a few scattered trees.
Conservation
Due to its wide range, it was not considered vulnerable by IUCN, although there is believed to have been a strong decrease in the population. In 2012 the species was uplisted to Near Threatened. The primary cause of the decrease appears to be heavy hunting pressure, with habitat degradation and destruction also playing a major role.
The sedentary population recorded from Morocco, the subspecies A.a. lynesi, has not been definitely recorded since 1962, it is likely to be extinct.
Conservation status
Near Threatened
(IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2018: e.T22691924A129917069.
doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22691924A129917069.en. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22691924A129917069.en. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sighted: 23 October 2019 (Date of first photo that I could use)
Location: Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
Arabian Bustard
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
Arabian Bustard
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
Arabian Bustard
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
23 October 2019 - Hallaydeghe Asebot National Park, former Aledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Ethiopia
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