Heaviest Flying Bird

THE bustard is the world’s heaviest flying bird. Though most species average between 13 to 16 kg, the male birds may sometimes tip the scales between 18 to 21 kg. Indeed, some have become so fat that they are no longer able to fly.

One of the world's rarest species is the Great Indian Bustard, more popularly known by its Hindi name “Taqdar” or “Hukra”. It stands about 90 cm to the top of its head and weighs around 16 kg. It is the largest and the heaviest flying bird and looks very much like a young ostrich.

The Great Indian Bustard is rarely seen, and mainly lives in pairs or in groups in the open plains near cultivated areas. At one time, it was found nearly everywhere in the Indian subcontinent, but now its plaintive cry sounding like “hook”, is heard only in isolated areas like the Himalayan foothills and in central India.

The Australian Bustard weighs as much as the Great Indian Bustard, but the Kori Bustard now found in northeast Africa, between Tanzania and Ethiopia is much smaller. However all of them have certain features in common.

They are ominivorous creatures. Besides, grain and shoots of various crops, they enjoy an occasional meal of locusts, beetles, centipedes and lizards.

They live much longer than other birds, but what worries animal conservationists is the bustard’s extremely slow reproductive rate. It nests between the months of March to September, and generally lays only one egg. Two eggs are a rarity.

Some of the smaller species are migratory and powerful fliers. Their wing spans could reach almost 240cm in length and when they fly, the white patches on their wings, which are not generally noticeable, become conspicuous.