Houbara Bustards (Tiloor) – Ghosts of the Deserts
The Houbara Bustard, commonly referred to in South Asia as “Tiloor” or “Taloor”, is a large and evasive bird which appears to glide over the barren deserts and arid plains.
It’s an animal of striking good looks and great adaptability, but also one that is frequently misunderstood because of its elusive behavior and lessened local numbers.
Where is it Found? (Habitat and Range)
The Houbara Bustard is a bird of open, arid country. It occurs primarily in two separate regions:
North African Houbara: Found mainly in the deserts and semi-deserts of North Africa—Morocco to Egypt.
Asian Houbara (The Commoner Tiloor)
This is the subspecies present in Pakistan, Iran, Arabian Peninsula and some parts of Central Asia. It is especially common in Pakistan including the Chagai desert of Balochistan, Thar desert of Sindh and on arid scrublands in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Habitat This species occurs in stony plains, sandy dunes and low scrub while the camouflaging uniform of its body lets it to blend perfectly into its locality.
What is its Colour? (Appearance)
Colours in the Houbara are a perfect example of desert camouflage :-
Its plumage is primarily sand-colored buff or light brown, heavily streaked with dark brown and black markings, particularly on the back.
The underside is plain whitish.
Special featuresDuring the courtship display, the male raises its neck and shakes its head from side to side, creating a long white and black plume extending to either side along the front of its body.
It has a delicate, grayish beak and its legs are both strong and long, for walking or running.
What Does it Like to Eat? (Diet)
The houbara is an omnivorous bird which forages on the ground. Diet[edit] The diet of the Nuttall’s woodpecker has some seasonal and regional variation, though typically it consists of:
Vegetation: Seeds, leaves, flowers and shoots of desert plants.
Preys on: Insects (especially beetles and locusts), small reptiles (such as lizards), snails, and also mammals. This variety of diet is what helps it to survive in such harsh, resource-scarce settings.
How Rare is it?
(Conservation Status)
The Houbara Bustard is listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species Wetland Centre tiene un total de cinco ejemplares Hembras 1. It is very uncommon and populations are decreasing.
Its scarcity has two main causes
Loss of Habitat: Through human settlement and agriculture.
Illegal and over hunting: The biggest threat, especially by falconers in the Middle East who value this bird as a traditional quarry species for their hunting falcons. Even with legal hunting seasons and conservation efforts, poaching is rampant.
Predation Eggs and nestlings vulnerable to foxes, cats and ravens.
Arabian Bustard or Tiloor is a beautiful representative of the delicate ecosystem of desert.
The fairly subdued, mottled plumage of the camouflaging Black-bellied Sandgrouse The Black-bellied sandgrouse’s attractive and distinctive black belly remind us that tracking by flight calls is a real skill. But its scarcity and vulnerable nature is a trireme calling us for more rigorous conservation,
that swifter action must be taken and we have to make more people aware of this “ghost of the desert” probably before it’s gone.
The Houbara Bustard (Tiloor) An In Depth Guide
So, here is an overview of each part of this interesting bird.
Description and Where to Find Detailed habitat
The Houbara is supremely adapted to arid habitats. It’s not found in forests, wetlands or mountains, but instead inside:
Habitat Main habitats are desert and semi-desert plains, sandy dunes, arid scrubland and stony plateaus.
Crucial Requirement: Open areas where low cover plants are sparsely distributed. This gives it the ability to see predators at a distance and put its camouflage into action. It requires spaces where it can run and fly with few obstacles in its path.
Distribution (Asian Subspecies - the “Tiloor”):
Breeding Habitat Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia) and north of parts Iran and Afghanistan. northwestern desert region of China.
On wintering grounds (migration) Mostly this is when it is observed in South Asia and Middle East. It moves south to take refuge from the bitter winter in central Asia. Its winter homes include:
Pakistan Large populations in Baluchistan (Chagai, Kharan deserts), Sindh (Thar desert) and some areas of Punjab and KPK.
Iran All the way across central and eastern deserts.
Arabian Peninsula=UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman or /and Qatar etc.
Habits: It is a cryptic and extremely shy bird that spends most of its time on the ground. It sometimes rests in the shade of a bush during the heat of day.
Colour and Appearance Detail Description
The colour is not a single hue, but a multi-coloured set of hues to make it less conspicuous.
Body: The upper surface (excluding the wings) is a sand, pale brown marked with a profusion of dark brown or black wavy lines and spots. This fragments its form along the desert floor.
Under Parts The chest and belly are a rather purer plain white or very pale buff with no markings.
Head and Neck The head is small with a gentle crest. The neck is long and has fine vertical banding. Male transforms during the flamboyant courtship display. He builds up long beautiful white plumes with black tips on his neck and head, then fans them out on a frantic running dance designed to attract females.
Size & Shape: Large bird, about the size of an over-sized chicken but with slightly more upright carriage, long legs and longer neck. It gets up to about 60-70 cm high.
Detailed Diet and Feeding Habits
THE HOUBARA Like many other steppe birds, the Houbara is an opportunistic omnivore; this means it eats anything that will help it to outlive its tough environment.
It feeds by walking slowly, pecking at the ground and vegetation.
Seeds, shoots, leaves, flowers and buds of a wide variety of desert plants and grasses.
Protein (Animal Based Diet): Essential for energy, especially during breeding. This includes:
NOT FORMED IN STAKED HEAPS Insects: Beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, caterpillars and ants.
Small Lizards and little snakes.
Spiders, scorpions, snails (even small rodents).
Adaptation: It can get most of its water from food and lives without drinking much water directly, a crucial adaptation for life in the desert.
A Closer Look at Its Rarity and Threats
The “Vulnerable” designation is one step less severe on the list and means that they are at very high risk of extinction in their natural habitat. And its scarcity is not an act of God but a result of human intervention.
Over-hunting. And this is the greatest single danger.’
It remains the ultimate bird of prey for Arab falconers. Falconry hunters train falcons (including Saker and Peregrine falcons) to kill it. Despite their status as internationally protected species with quotas, illegal poaching and over-hunting have devastated populations.
Hunted locally It is also hunted for meat and sport in some places.
Habitat Destruction: Grazing, conversion for agriculture, and infrastructure (roads, fences, settlements) degrade its habitat for both living and breeding.
The food and water supply is diminished when droughts get longer and deserts grow larger.
Threats of Collision: Excessive mortality caused by collision with power lines and fencing in wide open habitat.
Nest Predation Foxes, feral dogs, cats and birds such as ravens eat eggs and chicks.
Captive Breeding: The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan all have gigantic, high-tech captive breeding programs (e.g. the National Avian Research Center in UAE, or the Houbara Foundation in Pakistan). Tens of thousands of birds are raised and released in the wild every year to help support their numbers.
Creation and management of protected areas in priority habitats.
International Co-operation: Included in the CMS, encouraging cross-border efforts to safeguard it.
Conclusions The Houbara Bustard (Tiloor)
is becoming a marvellously-mottled storm desert survivor, its future already in the equilibrium between cultural conservation and scientific culture. Its future is directly linked to how well the principles of sustainable management, effective legislation, and habitat protection can be implemented in a system.