|
|
|
MacQueen's Bustard
(Chlamydotis macqueenii)
: (Formerly) "Asian Houbara"
Size: 55-65 cm; wing span: 1.3-1.5 m
Weight: 1.2-3.2 kg
|
|
|
 |
Physical description |
|
 Click here for a physical description
MacQueen's Bustards are large bustards. They have highly
cryptic
plumage
and the two sexes look alike, although males are slightly
larger and heavier than females. They can be distinguished
in the field when/if a male displays for a female.
Head, neck and front are all-grey, except for black
moustachial stripes that extend down the sides of the
neck to form a black "V" on the chest.
The back and upperwings are sandy-brown, with dark-brown
blotches, while the uppertail is sandy-brown with wide-spaced
dark-brown bars and a thin white terminal band.
In breeding
plumage,
the upperwings show a lot of black, especially on the
trailing side and the tips of the primaries, while in
eclipse,
only the tips of the primaries and one small area near
the alula are black, while the rest of the outer wing is
white.
The irises are yellow; the bill is grey with a dark tip
Legs and feet are greyish-yellow.
|
 |
Taxonomy, classification |
|
See MacQueen's
Bustard at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
MacQueen's Bustard is no longer considered to be conspecific with the
Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) of North Africa, but has been
given full species status.
|
|
 |
Range, habitat |
|
Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of MacQueen's Bustard is available
HERE
.
MacQueen's Bustards are a partly sedentary, partly migratory
or vagrant species. Their migration is peculiar because it
occurs mainly in longitudinal direction, rather than latitude.
Their overall range extends from the river Nile and the Sinai
peninsula in the West, via Arabia and the Caspian Sea to the
steppes and deserts of central Asia, up to Mongolia in the East.
With few exceptions, where small populations are sedentary
in the Middle East and Arabia, their breeding range extends
from central Asia to southern Iran. In central Asia they are
breeding migrants, while from southern Iran to Kazakhstan
they are sedentary.
Their winter quarters extend from north-western India, Pakistan
and Afghanistan via the Levant (excluding Asia Minor) to all of
Arabia.
In Arabia, MacQueen's Bustards are, except for a few areas where
they are resident, mostly winter visitors or migrants. During
their migration, they can basically be found anywhere in Arabia.
There is only one location near the East coast of Oman where
MacQueen's Bustards are resident and records are few and far
between.
MacQueen's Bustards are adapted to arid environments such as
steppes and deserts.
|
 |
Sightings |
|
Click here for sighting information
|
 |
Photos |
|
 |
ADULT |
|
Because of the poor quality of the photo taken, we show here not
only a sharpened version, but also the original photo, with its
original metadata. The identification of the bird was confirmed
by an expert.
Distant near-dorsal view of a MacQueen's Bustard in flight;
click on image to see the original photo
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
