FeatherScan logo
FeatherScan
Overview
Asian houbara

Asian houbara

Wikipedia

The Asian houbara, also known as MacQueen's bustard, is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Iran and further north toward Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrants were found as far west of their range as Great Britain. Populations have decreased by 20–50% between 1984 and 2004 mainly due to hunting and changes in land-use. The Asian houbara is a partial latitudinal migrant while the African houbara is more sedentary. Both species are the only members of the genus Chlamydotis. The Asian houbara used to be regarded as a subspecies of the African houbara.

Loading map...

Distribution

Region

Middle East and Central Asia

Typical Environment

Occurs from the Sinai and Arabian Peninsula through Iraq and Iran across Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to western China and Mongolia. Northern breeders migrate south to winter in Pakistan, northwest India, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. It favors open semi-desert, stony plains, and steppe with sparse shrubs such as tamarisk and saxaul. Birds use wadis, gravel flats, and the edges of light cultivation, especially after rains when food is abundant.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 2000 m

Climate Zone

Arid

Characteristics

Size60–70 cm
Wing Span130–160 cm
Male Weight1.6 kg
Female Weight1.2 kg
Life Expectancy12 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

Also called MacQueen's bustard, this species performs an elaborate courtship display in which the male raises white throat plumes and runs with a puffed neck. It has suffered major declines due to overhunting and habitat change, especially along migration routes. Large-scale conservation breeding and release programs operate in several countries to bolster wild populations.

Gallery

Bird photo
Bird photo
Bird photo
Lithograph from Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1832)

Lithograph from Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1832)

Illustration of a male in partial display with the ruff or collar erected

Illustration of a male in partial display with the ruff or collar erected

Behaviour

Temperament

wary and elusive

Flight Pattern

strong flier with powerful wingbeats and low, direct flight punctuated by shallow glides

Social Behavior

Generally solitary or in small loose groups outside the breeding season. Males display on traditional leks or dispersed arenas, performing rapid, running displays with erected plumes. Nests are simple ground scrapes where the female incubates 2–3 eggs and cares for the chicks.

Migratory Pattern

Partial migrant

Song Description

Usually quiet; males give low, gruff grunts and soft booming or hissing notes during display. Contact calls are short, rasping clucks, and alarm calls are harsher and more repeated.

Similar Bird Species

Asian house martin
Migratory

Asian house martin

The Asian house martin is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has mainly blue-black upperparts, other than its white rump, and has pale grey underparts. Its three subspecies breed in the Himalayas and in central and eastern Asia, and spend the winter lower in the mountains or in Southeast Asia. This species is locally abundant and is expanding northward in Siberia, so there are no concerns about its conservation status.

Asian koel
Native

Asian koel

The Asian koel is a member of the cuckoo family of birds, the Cuculidae. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel, like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian, Pakistani and Nepali poetry.

Asian openbill
Resident

Asian openbill

The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy black wings and tail. Adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible which is thought to be an adaptation that aids in the handling of snails, their main prey. Young birds are born without this gap. Although resident within their range, they make long distance movements in response to weather and food availability.

Asian palm swift
Resident

Asian palm swift

The Asian palm swift is a small swift. It is very similar to the African palm swift, Cypsiurus parvus, and was formerly considered to be the same species.

Asian red-eyed bulbul
Resident

Asian red-eyed bulbul

The Asian red-eyed bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Asian rosy finch
Migratory

Asian rosy finch

The Asian rosy finch or Asian rosy-finch is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It breeds in Mongolia and the East Palearctic; it winters in Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin and Japan. Its natural habitats are tundra and temperate grassland.