GREAT BUSTARD
Otis tarda
Great bustards are the largest land birds in Europe, but are also found in Central Asia, Russia and Morocco. Males can weigh up to 14 kilograms and stand almost 1.2 meters tall, which means they’re an easy target for hunters. Their numbers are in decline, with over 30 per cent of the global population lost since the 1960s, and they’ve even become nationally extinct in some countries, such as the UK. The last great bustard in the UK was shot in 1832; the bird was reintroduced in 2004 and currently has a self-sustaining population of more than 100 birds.