• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Jones, A. E. 1916. Gyps tenuirostris (Hodgson), the Himalayan Longbilled Vulture, breeding near Ambala, Punjab. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 24: 358.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
A2a+4acd; C1	A2a+3cd+4acd; D	A2a+3cd+4acd; C1; D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd; C1
2017	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd; C1
2016	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd; C1
2015	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd;C1
2013	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd;C1
2012	Critically Endangered	A2a+4acd;C1
2011	Critically Endangered	A2a,c,d,e; A4a,c,d,e; C1
2008	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Endangered
1994	Endangered
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	12,500,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	47,400,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	50-249 mature individuals	good	estimated	2008
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1973-2020
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-99%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-99%	-	-	-
Generation length	15.6 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	6	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species's total population was estimated at c. 300 individuals in 2008, indicating that there are probably fewer than 250 mature individuals remaining, hence the population is placed in the band 50-249 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Population estimates of c.1,260 individuals in 1969 (Dharmakumarsinhji 1971 in Dutta et al. 2010) and c.300 individuals in 2008 (Dutta et al. 2010) suggest that the species has undergone a decline equivalent to c. 82% over 47 years (estimate of three generations), assuming an exponential trend. The results of population viability analysis (Dutta et al. 2010) lend some support to a predicted decline of over 50% during the next 47 years if no additional conservation actions are taken.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
India	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
India	Banni Grassland and Chhari Dhand
India	Desert National Park
India	Diyatra Closed Area
India	Ghatigaon Bustard Sanctuary
India	Jawaharlal Nehru Bustard Sanctuary
India	Khichan
India	Naliya Grassland (Lala Bustard Wildlife Sanctuary)
India	Nameri National Park
India	Ozar and adjoining grassland
India	Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary
India	Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Sonkhaliya Closed Area
Pakistan	Bijnote Bustard Game Reserve (proposed)

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	marginal	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Energy production & mining	Renewable energy	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Acacia tortilis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Prosopis juliflora	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Corvus splendens	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/great-indian-bustard-ardeotis-nigriceps on 15/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 15/12/2024.