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Eurasian Bustard Alliance

Eurasian Bustard Alliance

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  • A male Eastern Great Bustard (Otis tarda dybowskii) walks past steppe flowers. Only 2500 individuals of this distinct subspecies remain in Mongolia, southern Russian Siberia, and northeast China. Photo: G. Amarhuu

  • Our team surveys wheat fields in northern Mongolia for Great Bustards. Photo: M. Toomey

  • Signatories of the Convention on Migratory Species approve increased protections for Great Bustards at the 11th Conference of Parties! This proposal was developed by our team and advanced by Mongolian CMS Focal Point. Photo: M. Kessler

  • By tracking the movements of individual birds over multiple years, we are able to investigate the ultimate cause of death. This is one way we determine drivers of population declines. Photo: M. Kessler

  • Our project supports the development of young Mongolian scientists. G. Natsag has worked with our project for four years, beginning as an undergraduate. He plans to advance to a masters program, continuing to research the Great Bustard. Photo: M. Kessler

  • A male Great Bustard performs his mating display: by twisting his wings and tail he displays previously hidden white underfeathers, transforming from a rusty-red bird to a bright white ball of feathers. Photo: D. Sumkhuu

  • A horse race at the annual "Naadam" festival. Mongolian children learn to ride at a young age. Our team is integrated into the local community, participating in events such as this. Photo: M. Kessler

  • Male Great Bustards gather in autumn to migrate. Photo: M. Kessler

  • Great Bustards prefer habitats that are relatively unmodified by humans. Here, a seasonal river flows past low-intensity wheatfields in northern Mongolia. Photo: M. Toomey

  • A Great Bustard in a summer snowstorm. The climate in northern Mongolia is severe, with freezing nighttime temperatures beginning in September, and lasting into May. Photo: M. Gilbert

  • Dropped feathers are sometimes our best clue to the whereabouts of wary and mobile Great Bustards. Photo: M. Kessler

  • Three male Great Bustards take flight in Mongolia. Photo: B.S. Chun

  • Great Bustard Habitat: Wheat Fields in northern Mongolia. Photo: M. Kessler

  • We carry out popular environmental education programs with rural schoolchildren in northern Mongolia. Photo: M. Kessler

  • A male Great Bustard in flight. Males can reach weights of up to 44 lbs (20 kg), ranking them as the heaviest birds capable of flight. Photo: M. Kessler

  • A Great Bustard chick, 2 weeks old and 250 grams (0.5 lb), in Mongolia. Our team monitors the nesting success of Great Bustards, which are vulnerable to nest predation. Photo: I. Tupitsyn

  • We have produced a documentary designed to spread awareness of the threats faced by this charismatic species. Contact us if you would like to screen the film. Photo: M. Kessler

  • Life in rural Mongolia: motorcycles and horses are the main methods of transportation, in a land with no paved roads. Photo: I. Tupitsyn

  • A small flock of Great Bustards flies over wheat fields. Historically a bird of the open steppe (grassland) habitat, the Great Bustard has adopted human- modified "cereal steppes" as habitat. Photo: B. Nyambayar

  • Over a dozen schoolchildren who have participated in our programs have entered university programs in biology and ecology. Here Nyamaa & Buyanhishig practice bird ID using optics donated by Celestron. Photo: M. Kessler

Welcome!

The Great Bustard, Asian Houbara Bustard, and Little Bustard are iconic species of the Eurasian steppes. The long-distance migrations and rapid growth of these birds in Eurasia are adaptations to harsh continental weather. Their predilection for walking and simple nests on the ground are fitting for the region’s treeless grassland and desert expanses.

Though they may live close to human settlements and in agricultural fields, where they consume insect pests, many residents are unaware of their presence. This is due to the cryptic coloration and wary nature of these birds, which is a matter of survival for species which have been hunted for millennia.

These heavy-bodied birds also perform spectacular breeding displays, and exhibit extreme sexual dimorphisms. These stem from the ‘lek’ breeding system of these species, in which males compete for female attention at traditional gathering sites each spring.

Eurasian bustards face a variety of threats, including poaching, poisoning, collisions with overhead cabling, and incompatible agricultural practices. The fact that they roam over large territories annually is challenging for their conservation, but makes them excellent ambassadors for landscape-level conservation and sustainable agriculture.

Our group, the Eurasian Bustard Alliance (formerly Central Asian Great Bustard Project), brings together people across northern Eurasia to work towards the conservation of bustard species. We aim to expand scientific knowledge of poorly understood populations of these birds with an emphasis on gathering information with conservation implications and engaging local people in the research and conservation process. We also promote awareness of these species and advance conservation policy.

Press Coverage of Our Work

  • Anthropogenic disturbance found to be main factor affecting habitat quality of Great Bustards in Western China

    Anthropogenic disturbance found to be main factor affecting habitat quality of Great Bustards in Western China

  • Special edition of “China Bird Watch” focuses on Great Bustard

    Special edition of “China Bird Watch” focuses on Great Bustard

  • Attempts to give the bustard species a flying start

    Attempts to give the bustard species a flying start

  • Great Bustard Documentary Reaches Audiences in China

    Great Bustard Documentary Reaches Audiences in China

  • Есть ли будущее у дрофы в Казахстане? – Зеленый мир

    Есть ли будущее у дрофы в Казахстане? – Зеленый мир

  • По следам дудака –  Ремез

    По следам дудака – Ремез

  • Mongolia’s heaviest flying bird undertakes a long migration

    Mongolia’s heaviest flying bird undertakes a long migration

  • Nat Geo Panel Shines Spotlight On Great Bustard Conservation in Asia

    Nat Geo Panel Shines Spotlight On Great Bustard Conservation in Asia

  • Governments unite to conserve the world’s heaviest flying animal – National Geographic

    Governments unite to conserve the world’s heaviest flying animal – National Geographic

  • Государства азиатских стран будут сотрудничать, чтобы сохранить большую дрофу – Ремез

    Государства азиатских стран будут сотрудничать, чтобы сохранить большую дрофу – Ремез

Bustards in the News

  • Endangered great bustards make spring journey back to nature reserve in N China’s Inner Mongolia

    Endangered great bustards make spring journey back to nature reserve in N China’s Inner Mongolia

  • Seasonal protected area proposed for wintering Great Bustards in Beijing

    Seasonal protected area proposed for wintering Great Bustards in Beijing

  • One-third of Crimea’s Great Bustard population poisoned

    One-third of Crimea’s Great Bustard population poisoned

  • A Houbara Bustard breeding center is planned for Kalmykia

    A Houbara Bustard breeding center is planned for Kalmykia

  • Man killed after filming hunting of Houbara Bustards in Pakistan

    Man killed after filming hunting of Houbara Bustards in Pakistan

Project News

Multilingual Sandgrouse supplement now online
Project News Publications Research 

Multilingual Sandgrouse supplement now online

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A new multilingual supplement to the Sandgrouse special issue on the Great Bustard in Central Asia is now available.  The special issue contains 17

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First global review of bustard collisions with powerlines

First global review of bustard collisions with powerlines

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A group of six male Great Bustards stands in a vast steppe in autumn

New Global Population Estimate for Great Bustards

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Special Journal Issue on Great Bustards in Central Asia [updated]

Special Journal Issue on Great Bustards in Central Asia [updated]

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Three male Great Bustards stand on a hill

Call for proposals: Great Bustard Small Grants!

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