#otidiformes

[herpsandbirds]

Great Bustard (Otis tarda), males displaying, family Otididae, order Otidiformes, NE China

ENDANGERED.

At up to 40 lbs, the male is one of the world’s heaviest flying birds.

photographs by VCG

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

What's so great about the great bustard? A lot of things- but the greatest of all is probably that they can lay claim to fame as one of the heaviest flying birds! The heaviest of them can weigh upwards of 18 kg (40 lbs)- and to help them lift all that weight, they boast a 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wingspan!

(Image: A male great bustard (Otis tarda) by L. Jargal)

[awkwardbirdsdreaming]

Griffember 10 (#87) - lesser florican (CR) [male]

When it comes to 'shaped' birds, I think bustards are certainly one of the best! This species of bustard does a silly looking display where the male puffs up and hops into the air - youtube link, video also has some information about their conservation status.

This will be my last griffin (for now). I'm sick and have other art stuff I want to get to! @ains-art does have more though ;)

[best-bird-tournament]

Bustard (Otidiformes) order / Otididae family

Which is the best bird?

Nubian bustard

Bengal florican

Little bustard

Karoo korhaan

Kori bustard

Red-crested korhaan

Blue korhaan

Great bustard

Northern black korhaan

Asian houbara

Hartlaub's bustard

Lesser florican

Voting ended onJan 30

[saritawolf]

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[jojos-birdwatching-adventure]

Esidisi / Kori Bustard

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Otidiformes

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next order of birds are the Otidiformes, commonly called “bustards”. They are comprised of one living family, Otididae, containing 11 genera.

Bustards are fairly large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and in steppe regions in Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. While they can fly, most prefer to run or walk. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, and invertebrates.

Bustards are known for their interesting mating displays, involving dances, aerial displays, inflating throat sacs, or feathered crests. They are usually sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and/or more elaborately patterned. They make their nests on the ground, in which the female lays three to five dark-colored, speckled eggs in a scrape in the ground. The male is not involved in incubation or caring for the chicks. Most are solitary outside of mating season, but may congregate together for migrations in search of food sources. Some travel in same sex groups or small family groups.

Otidiformes are part of the clade Otidimorphae, which also includes the Musophagiformes (turacos) and Cuculiformes (cuckoos). Otidimorphs arose in the Eocene, around 34 million years ago, with bustards evolving around 30 million years ago.

(source)

Do you have a favorite in Otidiformes?

One or more of my favorite animals is in Otidiformes

I love at least one or more of these animals

I like at least one or more of these animals

I am neutral about all of these animals

I dislike all of these animals

Voting ended onApr 20, 2025

Propaganda under the cut:

The largest bustard is the Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) (see gif above), and males have a body length of 105 - 135 cm (3 ft 5 in - 4 ft 5 in) and a wingspan of 230 - 275 cm (7 ft 7 in - 9 ft). They typically weigh between 7 and 18 kg (15 and 40 lb). Male Kori Bustards are one of the largest living birds capable of flight! Male Great Bustards (Otis tarda) (image 1) are shorter and smaller, but rival the Kori Bustard’s weight, at 5.8 to 18 kg (13 to 40 lb).

Great Bustards are one of the most sexually dimorphic living birds, in relation to size difference. Adult male Great Bustards weigh on average 2.48 times more than females (the only known bird with a higher size dimorphism is the Green Peafowl [Pavo muticus]).

The smallest bustard is the Little Brown Bustard (Heterotetrax humilis) which is around 40 cm (1.3 ft) long and weighs around 600 g (1.3 lb) on average.

Alongside his display of a puffed up neck with elongated, filamentous breast plumes, the male Hartlaub's Bustard (Lissotis hartlaubii) also has an aerial display involving him leaping to a height of 15-20 meters (49-65.6 feet) into the air, before gliding downward with his wings held in a shallow V and his legs trailing.

The endangered Ludwig's Bustard (Neotis ludwigii) is hard to study due to its habitat of desolate regions and its wary nature, so not much is known about them. However, one of the major conservation concerns for this endangered bird is collisions with powerlines. Ludwig’s Bustards have a tendency to fatally collide with powerlines within their habitats, due to their visual blind spots and their flight position which requires them to look slightly down instead of ahead. This collision problem is of such a dire magnitude that the future of the species may be in jeopardy because of it. An estimated 4,000 – 11,900 Ludwig's Bustards are killed each year through powerline collisions.

The Denham's Bustard (Neotis denhami) will sometimes follow herds of ungulates in order to pick dung beetles from their droppings.

A female Buff-crested Bustard (Lophotis gindiana) in captivity was observed carrying her chicks to move them to a new nest. The hen carried one chick at a time under her wing, then dropped it at the desired location. It is unknown whether this behaviour is common among Buff-crested Bustards, or if it was just this female.

The rarest bustard is the Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) (image 3), which is critically endangered with less than 1,000 individuals alive. They have become increasingly threatened by land conversion for agriculture, particularly for rice production. Their population is fragmented, restricted to tiny areas of grassland scattered across South and Southeast Asia, and they are still poached for meat. However, significant strides have been made towards their conservation, involving protecting habitat, educating the public, sustainable land management, and a captive breeding program. Ecotourism provides revenue to locals, as the Bengal Floricans are not shy to perform their leaping courtship displays in front of humans.

[alonglistofbirds]

[2939/11080] Denham's bustard - Neotis denhami

Order: Otidiformes (bustards) Family: Otididae

Photo credit: Alexandre Vinot via Macaulay Library