• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2017	Near Threatened	A3c; C1
2016	Near Threatened	A3c; C1
2012	Near Threatened	A3c
2008	Near Threatened	A3c
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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)	356,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	8000-10000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2000
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	10-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	10.3 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is estimated to number 12,000-15,000 individuals in total, roughly equivalent to 8,000-10,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Surveys in the Eastern Karoo suggest the population has declined there since the 1980s (Shaw et al. 2016, J. Shaw in litt. 2016). Declines in its range have also been implied from Southern African Bird Atlas Project data, particularly in the north-east of its range (Hofmeyr 2012, Lee et al. 2017), though it has been suggested to be stable elsewhere, and the overall population may still be stable (Hofmeyr 2012). Ongoing habitat destruction may lead to future declines.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Lesotho	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
South Africa	Benfontein
South Africa	Golden Gate Highlands National Park
South Africa	Grasslands
South Africa	Platberg-Karoo Conservancy
South Africa	Rooiberge-Riemland
South Africa	Songimvelo Nature Reserve
South Africa	Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
South Africa	Upper Orange River

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Altitude	1500 - 3000 m	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
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Other ecosystem modifications	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Blue Bustard Eupodotis caerulescens. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/blue-bustard-eupodotis-caerulescens on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.