THE GREAT BUSTARD (OTIS TARDA)

The Great Bustard is a widely distributed species, ranging over South and Central Europe, and then to North Africa and inhabiting from Central Asia to North West India. It is partly migratory and is an occasional visitor to Britain. It is typically an inland bird, frequenting dry grassy and sandy plains or cultivated ground where the crops are low. It is omnivorous, feeding on young corn, plantains, berries and seeds as well as insects and their larvae, molluscs, frogs or even small reptiles and mammals. The eggs are deposited in an excavation in the soil.