Great Indian Bustards (GIBs)

About Great Indian Bustards (GIBs):

• The Great Indian Bustard, found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, is the flagship grassland species of India.
• It is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and India’s heaviest flying bird.
• The male bird weighs upto 12-15 kg and female bird up to 5-8 kg.
• Physical description:
  • Black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and head.
  • The body is brownish and the wings are marked with black, brown and grey.
• Diet:
  • They feed on grass seeds, insects like grasshoppers and beetles, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles. The species primarily feed on meswak, sewan grass.
• Distribution:
  • Its population of about 150 in Rajasthan accounts for 95% of its total world population.
  • They are mainly in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, including the Desert National Park which is the natural habitat of the species.
  • Grasslands of Kutch in Gujarat which is home to second-largest bustard population in India.
  • Arid regions of Maharashtra (Solapur), Karnataka (Bellary and Haveri) and Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool)
  • It is the State bird of Rajasthan.
• Conservation status:
  • Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972,
  • Listed in Appendix I of CITES,
  • Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Breeding season:
  • The breeding season spans from March to October.
• Captive breeding:
  • The captive breeding of GIBs was taken up in the DNP through a project executed by the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India in 2019.
  • As many as 24 GIB chicks are being reared in DNP by a team supported by the International Fund for Houbara Conservation of United Arab Emirates.
• Threats: 
  • Occasional poaching outside Protected Areas,
  • Habitat loss due to widespread agricultural expansion, infrastructural development such as irrigation, roads, electric poles, as well as mining and industrialization,
  • Bustards, with their poor frontal vision and heavy bodies, have also died due to collision with high tension electric wires.

Source : The Hindu