PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN ...(Observe the Bird and recognize)..GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD

PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN # 527/551(Observe the Bird and recognize)..GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD ... COL. PENCIL & GEL PEN... 6*7 INCH...2015... [FROM PHOTOGRPAH OF MR. DILIPSINH CHUDASAMA] ... The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) or Indian bustard is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, as few as 250 individuals were estimated in 2011 to survive and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck.
The great Indian bustard is a large ground bird with a height of about a metre. It is unmistakable with its black cap contrasting with the pale head and neck. The body is brownish with a black patch spotted in white. The male is deep sandy buff coloured and during the breeding season has a black breast band. The crown of the head is black and crested and is puffed up by displaying males. In the female which is smaller than the male, the head and neck are not pure white and the breast band is either rudimentary, broken or absent.
Among bustards, this species is smaller only than the Kori bustard and the great bustard in size. It is also the largest land bird in its native range. The great Indian bustard stands at about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall, having a somewhat long neck and quite long legs.
The great Indian bustard is omnivorous. Apparently, insects, consisting mainly of Orthoptera, but also beetles, particularly Mylabris sp.) are preferred in the diet. Alternatively, they will take grass seeds, berries (largely of the genera Ziziphus and Eruca), rodents and reptiles (in Rajasthan they are known to take Uromastyx hardwickii[15]). In cultivated areas, they feed on crops such as exposed groundnut, millets and pods of legumes.
In 2011 Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered, mainly because it has been exirpated from 90% of its former range and the population was estimated at perhaps fewer than 250 individuals in 2008. The main threats are hunting and habitat loss. [INFO:WIKIPEDIA]