Great Bustard

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Great Bustard in the UK

Great Bustard died out as a British breeding bird in the 1830s. The last known breeding bird was collected in Suffolk in 1832. After that it was only a very rare vagrant from the Continent, and those wild records give it a place in Category A of the British List. A reintroduction began on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in 2004, using birds reared from eggs brought from Russia and, after 2014, from Spain. The first wild-bred chicks fledged in 2009. By 2022 the project reported more than 100 free-living birds and described the population as self-sustaining. Globally the species is classed as Vulnerable.

Where and when to see a Great Bustard

Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire is the only place with resident birds. Much of the Plain is a military training area with restricted access, and the birds also use private farmland, so the practical way to see them is a booked visit with the Great Bustard Group, which takes visitors to a hide. Males display in spring. Do not walk farmland looking for them: they are wary, and nesting females desert easily. Young birds often wander in their first winter, to Hampshire, Dorset and Gloucestershire among other places, and get reported on bird news services.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Plains (reintroduced Wiltshire).
Diet: Seeds, insects.
Field note: Heaviest European flying bird.

How to identify a Great Bustard

Huge. A male stands about a metre tall and can weigh as much as a Mute Swan, while females are much smaller, closer to a goose. The head and neck are pale grey, the upperparts rich chestnut barred with black, and the underparts white. Breeding males grow long white whiskers and a rusty breast band. It walks slowly with the neck upright and can look like a small deer at range. In flight the wings are long and mostly white with dark tips, and the beats are slow and powerful, with the neck stretched out.

Call and song

Mostly silent. Displaying males make low, hollow grunts that are audible only at close range, and alarmed birds give a short gruff bark. You will not find one by ear. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Little Bustard: Little Bustard, a vagrant, is only Pheasant-sized and flies with fast, whistling wingbeats.
• Common Crane: Crane is taller and grey with a black and white neck, and in flight its long legs trail well beyond the tail.
• Greylag Goose: A distant goose on a field is shorter-legged and waddles, with an orange bill and grey-brown body.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great Bustard is an Epic tier bird, worth +20 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Saker FalconLegendary · Plains (very rare)
• European RollerEpic · Open dry country
• Black StorkEpic · Forested rivers
• Greater FlamingoEpic · Saline lagoons

Great Bustard: quick answers

Where can I see a Great Bustard in the UK?

Only on and around Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, and realistically only on an organised visit. The Great Bustard Group runs trips to a viewing hide, and booking ahead is essential. Public roads across the Plain occasionally give distant views, but access is limited by military use.

Is the Great Bustard rare in the UK?

Yes. The whole British population is a little over 100 birds in one part of Wiltshire. The project switched from Russian to Spanish eggs after a genetic study found that the old British birds were a closer match to Iberian stock.

What does a Great Bustard eat?

Mainly plants: leaves, shoots, flowers and seeds of wild herbs and crops such as oilseed rape and lucerne. In summer it adds large insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, which are the main food of growing chicks. It feeds by walking slowly and picking from the ground.

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