Savile's bustard is a species of bird in the family Otididae. Otididae are an Old-World and understudied family of birds mostly found in Afro-Tropical regions. It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.
Region
Sahel belt of West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from Senegal and Gambia east through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire (northern), Niger, Nigeria, and Chad to western Sudan and northern Cameroon. It favors semi-arid savannas, Sahelian grasslands, and thorn scrub with scattered shrubs and acacias. Frequently uses fallow fields, lightly grazed rangeland, and millet stubble. Avoids dense woodland and very open desert but occupies mosaic habitats with cover for concealment.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small Sahelian bustard, it is highly cryptic and often goes unnoticed as it freezes among dry grasses. Males perform conspicuous ground displays with raised crest and fanned tail during the rains. It is sometimes detected more by its barking, grating calls at dawn and dusk than by sight. Habitat loss and hunting pressure can affect local numbers, though it remains generally widespread.
Temperament
solitary and wary
Flight Pattern
strong, low flights with short rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Usually encountered singly or in pairs; small loose groups may form in good feeding areas. Breeding coincides with rains; males display on open patches and call from low mounds. Nests are simple scrapes on the ground with 1–2 eggs, and chicks are precocial and well-camouflaged.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of harsh, grating barks and croaks, often delivered at dusk and night. Also gives dry clucks and rattling notes during display. Calls carry well over open savanna in calm conditions.
Plumage
Sandy-buff to brown upperparts densely mottled and vermiculated with darker markings; underparts pale buff to whitish with fine streaking on breast. Males show a contrasting patterned head and neck with darker panels and paler throat; females are duller and more uniformly mottled. Wings appear brown above with pale panels; in flight, contrasting pale inner wing shows.
Diet
Takes a broad mix of invertebrates such as grasshoppers, beetles, termites, and ants, supplemented with seeds, green shoots, and small fruits. Opportunistically picks small vertebrates when available. Diet shifts seasonally, with more insects taken after rains and more seeds in the dry season.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the ground in open savanna, lightly vegetated grasslands, and agricultural fallows. Often feeds along edges of scrub and among grass tussocks where it can quickly crouch to avoid detection.
