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Heuglin's bustard
Male specimen at Nairobi National Museum
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Otidiformes
Family:	Otididae
Genus:	Neotis
Species:	N. heuglinii
Binomial name
Neotis heuglinii (Hartlaub, 1859)

Heuglin's bustard (Neotis heuglinii) is a species of bird in the bustard family.

Description

It is a fairly large species, at up to 89 cm (35 in) in length. The males weigh 4–8 kg (8.8–17.6 lb) and the much smaller females weigh 2.6–3 kg (5.7–6.6 lb). Other than size, sexes differ considerably in appearance. The striking male has a large back marking over the crown down the face to the chin with a bluish-grey neck. On the male, a chestnut band on the lower chest which is separated from the white belly by a thin black band. The female is much more of a subdued brownish color overall, with no bold black markings and has a face lined with faint slate-gray markings. In flight, the species reveals a white primary wedge on the otherwise dark upperwing, a feature obscured when the species is standing.

The Heuglin's bustard is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. It occurs in pairs or small groups in arid or semi-arid grasslands, even ranging into desert-edge.

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Neotis heuglinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22691920A93328934. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22691920A93328934.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. ^ Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), ISBN 978-0856610790
4. CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.

• IUCN Red List least concern species
• Neotis
• Birds of the Horn of Africa
• Birds described in 1859