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The Great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is a bird found in India. Dry grasslands and scrub in India, mostly in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Critically Endangered.

🏡 Where the Great Indian bustard lives

Dry grasslands and scrub in India, mostly in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs20%
• 🍎 Fruit20%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants20%
• 🐭 Mammals & birds10%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

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

Conservation status

Hear the Great Indian bustard

Recorded by Rinse van der Vliet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1166260. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Great Indian bustard

Where does the Great Indian bustard live?

The Great Indian bustard lives in India. Dry grasslands and scrub in India, mostly in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.

What does the Great Indian bustard eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), 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 Indian bustard endangered?

Almost gone from the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Critically Endangered.

More birds from Asia

• Sulu hornbill
• Forest owlet
• Baer's pochard
• Red-vented cockatoo
• Salmon-crested cockatoo
• Black-hooded coucal

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