K. Baranidharan

Race for the National Bird of India: Runner Up- Great Indian Bustard: Status of Great Indian Bustards K. Baranidharan

Bustards are magnificent, tall, long-necked and long-legged birds belonging to the avian family Otididae. There are about 26 species of bustards in the world, and the Great Indian Bustard (GIB; Ardeotis nigriceps) is the most endangered among these. The Indian Board of Wildlife, in late 1960s had considered this bird as a possible choice of the National Bird along with the Peacock. The GIB, the state bird of Rajasthan, is a shy bird living in arid and semi-arid (dry) grasslands and scrubs containing scattered bushes and some cultivation. The GIB, once abundant in the grasslands across the Indian subcontinent, is reportedly extinct from 90% of its former range (Birds life International 2008). Now, the GIB is confined to some parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in India, and Sind in Pakistan, in scattered and isolated populations.