Great Bustard

Otis tarda

Order: Otidiformes
Family: Otididae
Presence in the Strait: Historical
Protection in Spain: In danger of extinction · Andalusian Catalogue
In Spanish: Avutarda común

Photograph: Luiz Lapa, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 75–105 cm
Wingspan: 190–260 cm
Weight: 7,250 g

Presence in the Strait

Extinc. Abundant and widely distributed towards the beginning of the 20th Century, with flocks of up to 74 birds in La Janda. By the ‘50s, the largest flocks did not exceed 30 birds, and 6 birds in the ‘70s. In the ‘90s there was a residual population, with a maximum record of 12 birds in September 1994, and there was only a single male in the winter of 2000-01, which died in the 2006 spring.

Identification

Unmistakable. The heaviest of all European birds. Males are twice the size of females. ad.W Avutarda Común Otidae ad.E Sisón Común ad.E ad.E Avutarda Común

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

50 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 9.0 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

Sensitive species (very scarce breeder, sensitive to disturbance): its observations are shown with the location generalised to about 11 km, here and in the explorer. The original source keeps the exact position.

First open record: 27 March 1979
Latest record: 15 May 2020

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: In danger of extinction
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NT · Near threatened · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): EN · Endangered

Plan: AVES ESTEPARIAS · Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Otidiformes
Family: Otididae
GBIF taxon key: 2474921

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Luiz Lapa, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Great Bustard

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery