Great bustard

Otis tarda

The Great bustard (Otis tarda) is a bird found in Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, and 1 more countries. Open grasslands and farmland in Spain, Hungary and parts of Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, leaves and other plant parts and small mammals and birds. The IUCN Red List lists it as Endangered.

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Scientific name	Otis tarda
Region	Europe
Found in	Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, and 1 more countries

🏡 Where the Great bustard lives

Open grasslands and farmland in Spain, Hungary and parts of Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs40%
🌿 Leaves & plants40%
🐭 Mammals & birds10%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

EndangeredVery few are left in the wild.

💡 Males puff out their white feathers into a huge foamy ball to show off.

Hear the Great bustard

Recorded by Esperanza Poveda (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1154916. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Great bustard

Where does the Great bustard live?

The Great bustard lives in Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, and 1 more countries. Open grasslands and farmland in Spain, Hungary and parts of Asia.

What does the Great bustard eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), leaves and other plant parts (about 40%), small mammals and birds (about 10%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Great bustard endangered?

Very few are left in the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Endangered.

More birds from Europe

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.