# Great bustard (*Otis tarda*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-bustard  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 3.89 kg – 12 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.7 m – 2.6 m |
| Lifespan | 28.3 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 24.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.4 – 2.5 |
| Age at maturity | 4.48 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Otidiformes
- family: Otididae
- genus: Otis
- species: *Otis tarda* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Otis tarda korejewi*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Great bustard (Otis tarda). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-bustard