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

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Perrins, C.M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramp, S.; Perrins, C. M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2016	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2015	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2014	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2012	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2008	Near Threatened	A2b,c,d; A3b,c,d; A4b,c,d
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	20,700,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	21,100,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	poor	estimated	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	10.3 years	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as common in the Central African Republic and parts of Uganda (del Hoyo et al. 1996).

Trend justification: The species's range has contracted in Kenya and South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland and there have been declines in Sudan and Nigeria (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor 2015), although this is not consistent throughout South Africa with increases in Eastern Cape and Western Cape, and decreases in southern KwaZulu-Natal (Hofmeyr 2012). Overall the species is suspected to be undergoing a moderately rapid global population decline owing to hunting pressure and conversion of grassland habitat for agriculture.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native	yes
Benin	extant	native	yes
Botswana	extant	native	yes
Burkina Faso	extant	native	yes
Burundi	extant	native	yes
Cameroon	extant	native	yes
Central African Republic	extant	native	yes
Chad	extant	native	yes
Congo	extant	native	yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native	yes
Côte d'Ivoire	extant	native	yes
Eritrea	extant	native	yes
Eswatini	extant	native	yes
Ethiopia	extant	native	yes
Gabon	extant	vagrant	yes
Gambia	extant	native	yes
Ghana	extant	native	yes
Guinea	extant	native	yes
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Lesotho	extant	native	yes
Malawi	extant	native	yes
Mali	extant	native	yes
Mauritania	extant	native	yes
Mozambique	extant	native	yes
Namibia	extant	native	yes
Niger	extant	native	yes
Nigeria	extant	native	yes
Rwanda	extant	native	yes
Senegal	extant	native	yes
Sierra Leone	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native		yes
Sudan	extant	native	yes	yes	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes
Togo	extant	native	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes
Zambia	extant	native	yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ghana	Digya National Park
Kenya	Ol Ari Nyiro
South Africa	Amatola - Katberg Mountain
South Africa	Blyde River Canyon
South Africa	Grasslands
South Africa	iSimangaliso Wetland Park
South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal Mistbelt Grasslands
Zambia	Sumbu National Park and Tondwa Game Management Area

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	non-breeding
Savanna	Dry	suitable	breeding
Savanna	Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	0 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Droughts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Denham's Bustard Neotis denhami. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/denhams-bustard-neotis-denhami 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.