CreatureData

Lesser florican

Sypheotides indicus (J. F. Miller, 1782)

CRCritically Endangeredbirds

The lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus) is a species in the family Otididae, order Otidiformes. Recorded adults weigh 614.3 g to 625 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus)
Photo: Angad Achappa · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lesser florican

Weight
614.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.95src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lesser florican live?

Not recorded

What is the lesser florican?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus), also known as the likh or kharmore, is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus Sypheotides. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall grasslands and is best known for the leaping breeding displays made by the males during the monsoon season. The male has a contrasting black and white breeding plumage and distinctive elongated head feathers that extend behind the neck. These bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter. The species is highly endangered and has been extirpated in some parts of its range such as Pakistan. It is threatened both by hunting and habitat degradation. The only similar species is the Bengal florican (Houbarobsis bengalensis) which is larger and lacks the white throat, collar and elongated plumes.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser florican” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_florican&oldid=1379927024), 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 lesser florican endangered?

The lesser florican is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.

How is the lesser florican classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderOtidiformes
  5. familyOtididae
  6. genusSypheotides
  7. SpeciesSypheotides indicus (J. F. Miller, 1782)

Synonyms Eupodotis indica, Eupodotis indica indica, Otis aurita, Otis indica, Otis passaragia, Sypheoatides indicus, Sypheotides indica, Sypheotis aurita

Other names and names in other languages (44)
  • LikhEnglish
  • LikhEnglish
  • فلوريكان صغيرArabic
  • Флагова дроплаBulgarian
  • sisó de plomallCatalan
  • drop indickýCzech
  • FlorikanDanish
  • FlaggentrappeGerman
  • plumtufa otidoEsperanto
  • Sisón IndioSpanish
  • Sisón de penachoSpanish
  • tutt-trappEstonian
  • هوبره کوچکPersian
  • intianpikkutrappiFinnish
  • Outarde passarageFrench
  • Khar moreGujarati
  • חובה זוטרתHebrew
  • खरमोरHindi
  • ćubasta dropljaCroatian
  • kis florikánHungarian
  • Florican minoreItalian
  • インドショウノガンJapanese
  • mažasis indinis einisLithuanian
  • ചാട്ടക്കോഴിMalayalam
  • तणमोरMarathi
  • सानो खरमुजुरNepali
  • Kleine Indische TrapDutch
  • hindutrappeNorwegian
  • hubarka długoczubaPolish
  • نکا فلوریکانWestern Panjabi
  • sisão-de-penachoPortuguese
  • abetarda-de-penachoPortuguese
  • sisão-de-poupa-pequenoPortuguese
  • Малый флориканRussian
  • Малая индийская дрофаRussian
  • drop čiernokrkýSlovak
  • Mala florikan dropljaSerbian
  • mindre florikanSwedish
  • வரகுக் கோழிTamil
  • லிசர் புளோரிகான்Tamil
  • Telli FlorikanTurkish
  • флорікан індійськийUkrainian
  • 姬鴇Chinese
  • 凤头鸨Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser florican

Other species in the same family Otididae.

CompareLesser florican vs Little bustardLesser florican vs Great bustardLesser florican vs African houbaraLesser florican vs Great Indian bustard

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser florican?

An adult lesser florican weighs 614.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lesser florican endangered?

The lesser florican is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the lesser florican?

The lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus) belongs to the family Otididae in the order Otidiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-florican

MLA

“Lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-florican.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_florican_2026,
  title = {Lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-florican},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}