The Moroccan population of Great Bustard Otis tarda was surveyed in the four years 1998–2001. Highest numbers were counted in December 1998 (21 males, 62–65 females, four first-year males: total c. 90) and March 2001 (15 males, 60–66 females, four first-year males: total 75–81). Combining enquiry results from local people with these data, the population size for spring is estimated at 92–111 individuals, and 117–133 for winter. Reproduction is confirmed. Threats to the population include illegal hunting, habitat loss through agricultural intensification (irrigation, use of pesticides) and infrastructural changes (construction of a motorway and a powerplant), disturbance, and accidents at powerlines and antennas. Several conservation measures are suggested: cease hunting; maximize the attention given to display sites; encourage villagers to carry out “Great Bustard-friendly” land use and adapt animal stocks to the carrying capacity of their regions; clarify the situation of genetic exchange between Spanish and Moroccan populations; study movements between the Moroccan sites; monitor the size and trends of the most important subpopulations; and conduct education campaigns in schools and increase public awareness among adults.

Developing a standardized survey methodology to census and estimate the size of wintering populations is a main conservation priority for the endangered Little Bustard. We present a standard and repeatable methodology to census wintering Little Bustard populations at a regional scale, and the first statistically reliable population estimate of a Little Bustard wintering population in Spain. We carried out two surveys, in 2003 and 2004, using UTM 10 km × 10 km squares as census units, which were subjected to stratified sampling over the species' potential distribution range in the region of Madrid (Central Spain). Only the areas of potentially suitable habitat within squares of known winter presence of the species were considered. The species' winter distribution in Madrid was fairly constant between years, showing a fragmented pattern in three main nuclei. The number of Little Bustards observed was consistent between surveys (752 and 786 birds, respectively), with birds grouped in an average of 32 flocks (1 to 350 birds, mean = 27.9 birds). No between-winter differences in flock size were observed, although differences between sectors were significant. The highest densities were observed in the Tagus valley (mean density = 2.9 birds km−2, 293 birds), followed by north-eastern farmland (mean density = 0.6 bird km−2, 269 birds). The estimated size of the Little Bustard population wintering in the Madrid region was 1,051 (95% CI = 1,043–1,231). This calculation was based on recorded population density, measured as the number of birds per square kilometre, and considers the potential habitats available in each sector. We propose this methodology as adequate for surveying any Little Bustard wintering area, at both regional and smaller spatial scales. Survey results are consistent with previous tentative estimates for the region of Madrid, and with available information on Little Bustard movements. Sixty-five per cent of squares with Little Bustard presence were outside any protected area, which makes the wintering Little Bustard population of Madrid highly vulnerable to habitat disappearance and may affect the viability of breeding nuclei whose individuals winter in the region.

Bustards comprise a highly threatened family of birds and, being relatively fast, heavy fliers with very limited frontal visual fields, are particularly susceptible to mortality at powerlines. These infrastructures can also displace them from immediately adjacent habitat and act as barriers, fragmenting their ranges. With geographically ever wider energy transmission and distribution grids, the powerline threat to bustards is constantly growing. Reviewing the published and unpublished literature up to January 2021, we found 2,774 records of bustard collision with powerlines, involving 14 species. Some studies associate powerline collisions with population declines. To avoid mortalities, the most effective solution is to bury the lines; otherwise they should be either routed away from bustard-frequented areas, or made redundant by local energy generation. When possible, new lines should run parallel to existing structures and wires should preferably be as low and thick as possible, with minimal conductor obstruction of vertical airspace, although it should be noted that these measures require additional testing. A review of studies finds limited evidence that ‘bird flight diverters’ (BFDs; devices fitted to wires to induce evasive action) achieve significant reductions in mortality for some bustard species. Nevertheless, dynamic BFDs are preferable to static ones as they are thought to perform more effectively. Rigorous evaluation of powerline mortalities, and effectiveness of mitigation measures, need systematic carcass surveys and bias corrections. Whenever feasible, assessments of displacement and barrier effects should be undertaken. Following best practice guidelines proposed with this review paper to monitor impacts and mitigation could help build a reliable body of evidence on best ways to prevent bustard mortality at powerlines. Research should focus on validating mitigation measures and quantifying, particularly for threatened bustards, the population effects of powerline grids at the national scale, to account for cumulative impacts on bustards and establish an equitable basis for compensation measures.

Understanding habitat selection and assessing habitat quality have an important role in habitat management and prioritisation of areas for protection. However, interpretations of habitat selection and habitat quality can be confounded by social effects such as conspecific attraction. Using 7 years’ data from a well monitored Great Bustard Otis tarda population in Central Europe, we investigated the roles of human disturbance and social cues in display site selection of male Great Bustards Otis tarda. The spatial distribution of displaying males was best predicted by human disturbance. In addition, the number of males attending display sites was strongly correlated to the number of females present and not with disturbance. This suggests that abundance could be a misleading metric for habitat quality in social species. Our results highlight the roles of disturbance and social cues in male habitat choice, and suggest that social factors need to be taken into consideration for management of endangered populations.

Species’ declines are caused by a combination of factors that affect survival and/or breeding success. We studied the effects of a set of environmental and anthropogenic variables on the disappearance of Canarian Houbara Bustards Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae on Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), once the main stronghold of this endangered bird. Of 83 male display sites detected in 1997–1998, only 29 remained occupied in 2020–2021 (a 65% decrease in only 23 years). We compared habitat quality, density of conspecifics, other steppe birds and crows, presence of human infrastructure, and degree of environmental protection between these 29 extant sites and the 54 extinct sites using univariate analyses and generalised linear models (GLMs). The most influential variable in the abandonment of display sites was the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), an indicator of green vegetation productivity, which suggests a strong effect of habitat aridification due to climate change on the population’s extinction process. Powerline density was the second most important factor. This suggests that houbaras have survived where a greater abundance of food resources has enabled a higher breeding success, and where powerline fatalities have caused lower mortality over the years. Higher densities of houbaras, and other steppe birds and crows at extant display sites confirmed the better habitat quality in these areas. Extant display sites, located generally in protected areas, also had lower densities of human infrastructure (e.g. buildings, roads). We discuss the conservation implications of these results and provide management recommendations for this endangered subspecies.

Adult sex ratios (ASRs) have proved to correlate with population trends, which make them potential useful indicators of a species’ population trajectory and conservation status. We analysed ASRs and proportion of juveniles in flocks of an endangered steppe bird, the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, using surveys made during the non-breeding period in seven areas within its Western European range (one in Portugal, four in Spain, and two in France). We found overall male-biased ASRs, as all the seven surveyed areas showed a male-biased ASR mean value. Five areas were below the threshold median value (female sex ratio = 0.4) considered to be consistent with an increased probability of extinction, according to earlier population viability analyses for the species. We also found a significant positive correlation between female ratio and the proportion of young individuals in the non-breeding flocks surveyed. Our results (strongly male-biased ASRs) support the hypothesis that the viability of Little Bustard populations in Western Europe is threatened by an excess of female mortality, something that should be quantified in the future, and emphasise the value of monitoring sex ratio as a population viability indicator in species where monitoring survival is difficult to achieve.

Farmland biodiversity is declining worldwide, and especially in Western countries largely owing to the large-scale intensification of agricultural practices. The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax is a steppe bird adapted to agro-pastoral ecosystems in Western Europe, and is one of those many farmland species declining due to changes in agricultural production systems. In the EU, the majority of the extant population of this species is concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula. In Italy, the species has now disappeared from the mainland and is currently present only in Sardinia, where two populations, in the central-western areas, hold about two-thirds of the whole island’s numbers, with the rest scattered across numerous smaller nuclei. While there are indications and anecdotal information suggesting a possible population decline during recent decades, robust monitoring across different time periods that would allow a comparison of numbers is lacking in Sardinia. Here we repeated a Little Bustard survey performed in 2008 in two areas of western Sardinia: Abbasanta, which is one of the two strongholds for the species in Sardinia, and Campeda, which holds a small population (about 10 territorial males). Using the same methodology as in the past survey, we assessed current population size and density, and quantified changes over time. We found alarming declines, at a rate of around 30% in 14 years in both areas, with an estimated current population of 87 males in Abbasanta and 8 males in Campeda. We highlight current and emerging threats, such as the downsizing of the Special Protection Area of Abbasanta, and the encroachment of solar power plants within the same area.

Ludwig’s Bustard Neotis ludwigii is globally ‘Endangered’ because of a projected population decline resulting from high collision mortality on power lines throughout its southern African range. Population monitoring is key to the effective conservation of threatened species, but there are no population trend data to confirm the impact of this mortality. We repeated extensive road and aerial census counts of Ludwig’s Bustards and other large terrestrial birds, previously conducted in the late 1980s, across the Karoo, South Africa. An aerial survey gave similar density patterns to a concurrent road count, suggesting that road counts are an adequate method for censusing Ludwig’s Bustards. In common with the 1980s surveys, there was a strong seasonal effect in the Succulent Karoo, with Ludwig’s Bustards abundant in winter and rare in summer. There was no evidence of a corresponding decline in the Nama Karoo in winter, but this probably relates to reduced detectability in the Nama Karoo in summer as there is evidence for large proportions of the population migrating between biomes. No relationship was found between the numbers of Ludwig’s Bustards and rainfall, perhaps because of larger scale rainfall patterns in the Karoo and/or because the species is not strictly nomadic. Compared with the 1980s, Ludwig’s Bustards were more strongly associated with transformed lands, which have increased marginally on road count transects. Using Distance, the current South African population is estimated at 114,000 (95% CI 87,000-148,000) birds, with no evidence for a population decline over the past two decades. Numbers of Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus increased since the 1980s, corresponding with other data supporting this trend, but numbers of Karoo Korhaan Eupodotis vigorsii, Southern Black Korhaan Afrotis afra and Blue Korhaan E. caerulescens all decreased, raising concerns about the conservation status of these resident bustard species.

Records of the Nubian Bustard Nubotis nuba range across the drier northern component of the Sahel zone in Africa from Mauritania through Mali, Niger, and Chad to Sudan. Reports of significant hunting pressure have caused it to be treated as IUCN “Near Threatened” for almost 40 years, but information relating to distribution and population trends remains scattered, anecdotal, and unevaluated. All accessible evidence bearing on its conservation is therefore assembled and reviewed here. The lack of records from Mauritania since 1984, Mali since 1974, and Sudan since 1988 suggests that populations there may now be very small and perhaps entirely extinguished. Records from Niger and Chad remain many, thanks largely to the assiduous reporting of observations on the West African Bird DataBase (WABDaB) by researchers involved in ungulate conservation. The national nature reserves of Aïr and Ténéré (RNNAT) and Termit and Tin-Toumma (RNNTT) in Niger and the Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (RFOROA) in Chad emerge as vital to the long-term survival of the Nubian Bustard, given the accumulating evidence in both countries of (1) widespread habitat degradation and conversion, as human populations and their livestock expand in numbers and range in the Sahel, and (2) intensifying persecution, as highly mobile and well-armed local poachers plus Gulf state hunters gain increasing vehicular access to the remotest regions, depleting all huntable wildlife (a Sahel-wide bird study, 2011–2019, encountered just 16 bustards of four species – none Nubian – in 487 observation days). Populations of Nubian Bustard must now be greatly fragmented and depleted, with many entirely lost, so targeted programmes to minimise disturbance, persecution, and damage to habitat in the three key reserves (including the exclusion of powerlines) are urgently needed. Ultimately however the survival of this and other endemic Sahelian species can only be secured via a huge programme of ecologically and economically sustainable management practices.

A sharp decline in the numbers of Asian Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii towards the end of the 20th century raised concerns about the conservation status of this species. Yet due to its large breeding range in the remote steppes and deserts of Central Asia and to its cryptic behaviour, it has been difficult to obtain enough comparable data to make reliable estimates of population trends. Here, we present the results of 10 years of extensive biannual surveys throughout southern Kazakhstan, considered to host the majority of the breeding birds in Asia, and we discuss trends in the Kazakh populations for the first decade of this century. The breeding Houbara population has generally declined over the greater part of Kazakhstan between 2000 and 2009 but with important regional differences. A steep decline was observed in north-east Caspian and Karakum, and a sharp drop followed by a stabilisation occurred in Kyzylkum. Over the same period, estimated densities were stable or increased in the area surrounding Lake Balkash, and increased in the Betpak-Dala region of central Kazakhstan. Autumn surveys showed more variability and revealed little decline overall. It was also clear that Betpak-Dala and Balkash regions hosted the largest populations. Our findings suggest that it is a complex undertaking to assign a level of vulnerability for this species as a whole. Highly variable population trends between regions indicate that threats and pressures are to a considerable extent region-specific, and that conservation measures need to be adjusted locally.

Modelling the distribution of species of conservation concern is an important issue in population ecology. Classically, logistic regression analyses are conducted to estimate species’ distributions from detection/non-detection data in a sample of sites and to test for the significance of several environmental variables in predicting the probability of occurrence. These modelling approaches assume that species detection probability is constant and equals one in all sampled sites, which is critical, notably in the case of rare, shy and cryptic species. The capture-recapture-like approach developed by Mackenzie et al. (2002, 2003) provides a reliable tool that accounts for imperfect detection when estimating species occurrence, as well as for assessing the relevance of site features as predictors of species occurrence probability. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using this approach in the context of Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata in southern Tunisia. Our results show once more the low detectability of this emblematic species and stress the need to take this factor into account when estimating Houbara spatial distribution. The distribution of Houbara in southern Tunisia is more likely to be shaped by human-related than by habitat factors. In particular, Houbara occurrence was positively associated with site remoteness and camel numbers. Houbara seemed to avoid areas with high human presence and shared the most remote and agriculture-free zones with free-ranging camels.

We developed a habitat suitability model for wintering populations of the Asian Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii in Iran and determined environmental variables affecting its occurrence. Our results indicate that various patches in central, western and eastern Iran provide the most suitable habitats for the Houbara. Annual precipitation, slope and distance to croplands were the most important variables for predicting Houbara occurrence. We also determined the effects future climate changes on the distribution of the Houbara in Iran. Results showed that suitable habitats for the wintering Houbara will increase in Iran, but will also considerably shift under future climatic conditions. The distribution maps that we present for the present and future climatic conditions can have important implications for the conservation and management of Houbara populations in Iran.

In conservation biology, population monitoring is a critical step, particularly for endangered groups, such as steppe birds in European agro-ecosystems. Long-term population monitoring allows for determination of species population trends and also provides insights into the relative roles that environmental variability and human activities have on priority species. Here, we compare the population trends of two sympatric, closely related farmland bird species, the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax and Great Bustard Otis tarda, in a protected area of Central Spain, which is their main stronghold in Europe. Over 12 years of monitoring, the abundance of Little and Great Bustards shifted in opposite directions in our study area. Little Bustard abundance decreased significantly (both males [-56%], and harder-to-detect females [-55%]), while Great Bustard abundance increased significantly (1,800%). Future surveys should be more precise and frequent for Little Bustards to facilitate evaluation of their population status and trends. We recommend annual surveys in 2–3 important locations by region throughout the breeding range for Little Bustards, while for Great Bustard the current regional monitoring programmes would be sufficient.

In 2013 a prediction was made that the South-East Asian subspecies of Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis blandini would be extinct within 10 years. In 2018 we conducted a survey in the Tonle Sap floodplain, Cambodia, of the last population of Bengal Florican in South-East Asia. We found that the rate of decline in displaying males was 55% over five years, a decline comparable to that recorded between 2005–2007 and 2012. The estimated number of displaying males in 2018 was 104 (95% CI: 89–117), down from 216 (156–275) in 2012. We also conducted surveys by flushing birds in the non-breeding season, which indicated that the sex ratio of males to females is 3:1. We therefore estimate that the total population of adult Bengal Floricans in Cambodia in 2018 was 138 (119–156), making H. b. blandini the most threatened bustard taxon. The number of sites that support displaying male Bengal Floricans was reduced from 10 to four between 2012 and 2018. Between 2012 and 2018 we monitored numbers of displaying males in most years at the sites that support 80% of the total population. The only site where numbers of birds are stable is Stoung-Chikraeng Bengal Florican Conservation Area, where there were 44 (25–63) displaying males in 2018. This is the only site that has an ongoing NGO-government conservation programme. Our data indicate that Bengal Floricans are lost from sites when the area of grassland falls below 25 km2. We found evidence that displaying male Bengal Floricans abandon display territories when grassland is lost, this also creates hope that they may disperse and could colonise newly created habitat. All remaining sites that support Bengal Floricans in Cambodia are imperilled and we outline what must be done to reduce the possibility that H. b. blandini will be extinct by 2023.

We present results on breeding parameters, nesting performance and nest habitat selection of the globally threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda, gathered during a 3-year study in Castro Verde (southern Portugal). A total of 107 nests were located. The estimated average onset of laying was 22 April (SD = 12 days, n = 8). The incubation period ranged from 25 March to 15 June. Nearly 95% of females incubated between 1 April and 31 May. Mean clutch size was 2.12 (SD = 0.69, n = 86), showing no significant inter-annual differences. There was no significant relationship between clutch size and average nest finding date, although, on average, nests were found later each year. Hatching occurred between 21 April and 26 June. The estimated proportion of eggs hatched per nest (hatching percentage) was 87.5% in 2002 (n = 8), 64.0% in 2003 (n = 33) and 75.8% in 2004 (n = 33). Overall nesting success for the three years was 71% (n = 107). The main causes of nesting failure were agricultural activities, mainly ploughing and harvesting, followed by corvid predation. Nests were spatially aggregated up to 800–1,500 m. At larger scales, the spatial distribution of nests can be considered random or uniform. Females showed a clear preference for nesting in cereal fields, followed by young fallows, old fallows, ploughed fields and then other habitats, although the intensity of selection of particular habitats varied between years. Nests were associated with both cereals and fallows, thus aggregating where those habitat types occurred within the study area. These results provide the first complete description of the nesting process in a Great Bustard population, as well as important cues to the assessment of conservation measures implemented in Castro Verde, an area holding around 80% of the Portuguese population of this species (application of EU agri-environmental schemes, power line signalling, water-point provision in dry years).

Local changes in land use can influence patterns of habitat selection by farmland birds, thus biasing predictions of population responses to land use changes based on wildlife-habitat or niche modelling. This study, based in arable farmland in south-central Spain, determined whether habitat selection (use of agricultural habitats and the distance to roads, tracks and buildings) by Great Bustards Otis tarda varied between two nearby areas with differing land uses. The western sector has experienced a process of land abandonment and infrastructure development linked to an airport project that started in 1998 and finished in 2009, while the eastern sector maintains extensive dry farmland systems. Great Bustards avoided ploughed fields and selected short- and long-term fallows. Selection of fallows was more intensive in the sector suffering recent land-use changes, where these substrates were more abundant. Great Bustards were distributed further from roads, paths and buildings than would be expected if individual birds selected habitats at random. Avoidance of infrastructure was strongest in the area suffering recent land-use changes. Local patterns of habitat selection seemed to change in relation to agricultural abandonment and infrastructure development. Consequently, conservation measures based on knowledge of broad patterns of habitat use and selection such as agri-environmental schemes may fail to ensure steppe bird conservation locally if such local effects are overlooked. Specifically, schemes should include landscape-scale restrictions on the development and use of infrastructure (roads, tracks and buildings). Analyses of the patterns and causes of local and regional changes in habitat selection are essential to conserve populations of endangered farmland birds.

The Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata is prominent in avian conservation because of its high value as the traditional quarry of falconers in Arabia and western Asia; such hunting has often been blamed for severely reducing population levels especially in Arabia, Pakistan and Morocco. This paper reviews current knowledge of the world status of the Houbara Bustard in each of the 31 range states where it has occurred within the last 10 years. On the basis of the evidence available, the overall population is estimated to be between 49,000 and 62,000 birds, made up of 700–750 birds in the Canary Islands, around 10,000 in Africa, and the remainder in the Middle East and Asia (especially Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). Numbers have apparently declined greatly during this century because of agricultural intensification and other land use changes, often exacerbated by hunting and trapping. Evaluation of the population status and trends against the current Red List criteria of IUCN indicate that the Canary Islands subspecies C. u. fuertaventurae is Vulnerable, while the subspecies C. u. undulata and C. u. macqueenii (as well as the whole species population) could probably also qualify for listing as Vulnerable but it is more appropriate to consider them “Near threatened” for the time being.

With the combination of worldwide landscape changes and the uncertainty about the impact on species abundance and distribution, the value of spatio-temporal modelling tools is increasingly obvious. The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax breeds on low-intensity arable cultivation and pastoral land and is currently threatened by diverse landscape modifications. The aim of this research was to predict Little Bustard population trends in the face of realistic scenarios of land use and infrastructure changes, applying a recently developed spatially explicit framework, based on the stochastic dynamic methodology (StDM). The application of this approach provided some basis to analyse the responses of breeding populations’ spatial distribution and abundance to the scenarios implemented. Since some of these scenarios represent local and/or regional risks to the viability of Little Bustard breeding populations, the results obtained demonstrate the potential of the proposed framework for landscape planning in the scope of the conservation of this threatened species. This approach also provides a promising baseline to support ecological risk assessments for other species, derived from ecological models with increased predictive power and intuitiveness to decision makers and environmental managers.

The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax is a Near Threatened grassland bird that is fully migratory within its eastern population, wintering in large numbers across the south Caucasus and northern parts of Iran. The species’ habitat selection has been comprehensively studied in its western European range, but very limited information is available for its eastern population. Surveys carried out between 2010 and 2015 show a considerable population increase and probable range expansion in the region. We modelled the suitability of potential winter habitat for the species and found that distance to country border, land cover and altitude were the most important variables in predicting habitat suitability. There is still considerable hunting pressure in Iran and distance to border is likely to be related to strict hunting prohibition along the border belt imposed for military purposes. This represents an opportunity for the conservation of the species, where management efforts should aim at ensuring the maintenance of suitable land cover.

The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax (Linnaeus, 1758) is a medium-sized, ‘Near Threatened’ steppe bird, whose Iberian population has been alarmingly declining over recent decades. Although this population loss has been mainly attributed to agricultural intensification, there is no information on Little Bustard adult mortality levels and their drivers. Based on a joint effort combining all the tracking data on adult Little Bustards collected over a period of 12 years by all research teams working with the species in Iberia, we found that annual anthropogenic mortality is likely to have a critical impact on the species, with values almost as high as the mortality attributed to predation. Collision with power lines was found to be the main anthropogenic threat to the adult population (3.4–3.8%/year), followed by illegal killing (2.4–3%/year), which had a higher impact than initially foreseen. Our work shows how poorly understood and previously unknown threats are affecting the survival of the most important Little Bustard population in Europe.