Houbara Bustard

March 2009.

Wow! Really interesting! Very rare to see in a zoo. It breeds regularly? I love this species...

Interesting, I had never heard of this species before. What other zoos have this species?

That would be a surprise, to say the least...

For those who are unfamiliar with the species: Houbara Bustards have always been a sought-after prey for Arabian falconers; thus, populations in the Middle East have decreased considerably in the past. There have been and still exist some local ex-situ breeding projects, but most of them have been unsuccessful. Like most bustard species, the Houbara Bustard is not easy to keep and be bred in captivity. Some recent success has been achieved by employing AI.

As far as I know, no specimen is kept in American or European collections. Tierpark Berlin kept some in the past, and ISIS lists Novosibirsk Zoo as a holder (what I can neither confirm nor confute).

Hmmm.....I didn't realise they were that uncommon, or rare. I would have taken more photos if I'd known. There were three or four in this aviary, a very large free flight aviary.

This is that they need for breeding I think. Bustards in general need various exemplars for let the female to choose the best male in courtship. And a lot of space as they are terrestrial birds that only lives in very open lands and deserts.

I don't knew that these attempts to breeding this species was unsuccessful. What a shame. Thanks for that info Sun Wukong. I was living in Lanzarote island during a month but I couldn't see this dreamed species (that in Canary islands forms an endemic sub-species, even much more threatened than the nominate).

I heard that some falconers catch live houbaras with falcons with balls in the claws that don't let the falcon to damage the bustard, then they bring it to the breeding centers. But maybe it was only in the past.

I think that the zoos that have success breeding Kori bustard could be apply the same cares to Houbara bustard... They're related, both are big bustard species. Although Houbara lives in more desertic areas.

I suppose (or better I'm almost sure) that you don't caught a feather Hix? I would love to have one from this species...

No, I didn't. I'm not really a feather person. You'd probably have trouble getting a decent feather through the small mesh anyway.

@Kakapo: No problem. It appears that Kori Bustards are better at adapting to captivity than the other bustard species. However, they are also not prolific, common breeders. Alas, I'd be careful to transfer husbandry ideas too prematurely to another species just because they are more or less closely related. Think of the lack of Great Bustards in European zoos... The population of Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae is down to less than 200 birds, isn't it? What a shame...

I would be careful with the international transfer of feathers, especially to the EU. Custom control there can be quite touchy in this regard, due to species protection legislation...

The species is now kept in a single European collection: Paris Menagerie, in addition to a few other Asian collections.