Macqueen's Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii

Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueens Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard is native to the Middle East and Central Asia, breeding mainly from the Caspian to Mongolia and wintering south around Arabia and Pakistan.
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueens Bustard
It is prevalent in desert habitat with scrub vegetation and steppe. Males are larger than females and slightly more boldly marked. In courtship display, they spread their neck and tail feathers in a similar way to the Great Bustard.
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Females are slightly paler and more camouflaged. Macqueen's Bustard is closely related to the smaller North African Houbara, of which it used to be classed as a subspecies.
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
All photos on this page were taken in Kazakhstan's Kzylkum Desert by Alexandra Makhnina.
Macqueen's Bustard
Macqueen's Bustard
Their population has been decimated by habitat loss (mainly for agriculture) and hunting (especially in their winter grounds). Also, like chickens, they need to cross roads.