Great bustard
Otis tarda Linnaeus, 1758
The great bustard (Otis tarda) is a bird of the family Otididae in the order Otidiformes. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial omnivore of grassland, with an adult body mass of 6.76 kg and a wingspan of 2.075 m.
Quick facts about the great bustard
The great bustard is partially migratory and has a geographic range of 4,522,000 km². It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 3.89 kg – 12 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.7 m – 2.6 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 28.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 24.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.4 – 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4.48 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the great bustard?
Photos of the great bustard
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the great bustard live?
Not recorded
What is the great bustard?
The great bustard (Otis tarda) is a bird in the bustard family, and the only living member of the genus Otis. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe to temperate Central and East Asia. European populations are mainly resident, but Asian populations migrate farther south in winter. Endangered as of 2023, it had been listed as a Vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 1996.
Portugal and Spain now host about 60% of the world's great bustard population. The species was extirpated in Great Britain in the 19th century, when the last bird was shot in 1832. Since 1998, The Great Bustard Group have helped reintroduce it to England on Salisbury Plain, a British Army training area. Here, the lack of public access and disturbance allows them the seclusion they desire as a large, ground-nesting bird.
From the Wikipedia article “Great bustard” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_bustard&oldid=1381909705), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the great bustard endangered?
The great bustard is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the great bustard classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderOtidiformes
- familyOtididae
- genusOtis
- SpeciesOtis tarda Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Otis tarda korejewi
Other names and names in other languages (91)
- حبارى كبرىArabic
- حبارى كبيرةArabic
- AutardaAragonese
- avitardaAsturian
- ДабадахAvaric
- DovdaqAzerbaijani
- ТуғаҙаҡBashkir
- ДропBelarusian
- ДрафаBelarusian
- Дроп (або дудак)Belarusian
- ДроплаBulgarian
- Голяма дроплаBulgarian
- Otiz brasBreton
- ТоодогBuriat
- Pioc salvatgeCatalan
- pioc salvatge eurasiàticCatalan
- TodaqChechen
- Хир кӑрккиChuvash
- DuvadaqCrimean Tatar
- drop velkýCzech
- Ceiliog y WaunWelsh
- Ceiliogod y WaunWelsh
- StortrappeDanish
- GroßtrappGerman
- Großer TrappGerman
- GroßtrappeGerman
- Μεγάλη ΩτίδαGreek
- granda otidoEsperanto
- AvutardaSpanish
- Avutarda ComúnSpanish
- Avutarda euroasiáticaSpanish
- suurtrappEstonian
- Basoilo handiBasque
- میش مرغPersian
- isotrappiFinnish
- TvaglaFaroese
- Grande OutardeFrench
- Outarde barbueFrench
- Bustard mórIrish
- Frangach mòrScottish Gaelic
- AvetardaGalician
- Bustart mooarManx
- Velika droplja - Велика дропљаSerbian (Latin)
- חובה גדולהHebrew
- dropljaCroatian
- túzokHungarian
- Արոս մեծArmenian
- Մեծ արոսArmenian
- TrölldoðraIcelandic
- OtardaItalian
- Grande otardaItalian
- ノガンJapanese
- სავათიGeorgian
- ДудакъKabardian
- ДуадақKazakh
- 느시Korean
- BetKurdish
- GwernyarCornish
- Grouss TrappLuxembourgish
- tikrasis einisLithuanian
- Didysis einisLithuanian
- lielā sīgaLatvian
- голема дропљаMacedonian
- хонин тоодогMongolian
- Grote TrapDutch
- drop (zwyczajny)Polish
- DropPolish
- وڈا بسٹارڈWestern Panjabi
- abetardaPortuguese
- Abetarda-comumPortuguese
- abetarda-eurasiáticaPortuguese
- abetarda-grandePortuguese
- DropieRomanian
- ДрофаRussian
- Большая дрофаRussian
- StuorratráhppeNorthern Sami
- drop veľkýSlovak
- drop fúzatýSlovak
- велика дропљаSerbian
- Velika dropljaSerbian
- stortrappSwedish
- ToyTurkish
- Bayağı toyTurkish
- Büyük Toy KuşuTurkish
- Toy KuşuTurkish
- ДрохваUkrainian
- дрохва євразійськаUkrainian
- ТоклутайUzbek
- ТоодгKalmyk
- 大鴇Chinese
- 大鸨Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the great bustard
Other species in the same genus Otis.
CompareGreat bustard vs Otis cafra
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the great bustard?
The great bustard is a bird of the family Otididae, order Otidiformes. It is a terrestrial species of grassland.
How big is the great bustard?
The great bustard has an adult body mass of 6.76 kg, with reported values from 3.9 to 12 kg. Its wingspan is 2.075 m, with reported values from 1.7 to 2.6 m.
What does the great bustard eat?
The great bustard is an omnivore.
Is the great bustard endangered?
Yes. The great bustard is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category.
How long does the great bustard live?
The lifespan of the great bustard is 28.3 years.
How many eggs does the great bustard lay?
The great bustard lays 2.5 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 24.5 days.
Is the great bustard migratory?
The great bustard is partially migratory.
Who named the great bustard?
The great bustard was named Otis tarda by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Great bustard (Otis tarda). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-bustard
“Great bustard (Otis tarda).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-bustard.
@misc{great_bustard_2026,
title = {Great bustard (Otis tarda)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-bustard},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}