Great bustard Great bustard The great bustard ("Otis tarda") is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus "Otis". It breeds in open grassland and farmland in southern and central Europe, and across temperate Asia. European populations are mainly resident, but Asian birds move farther south in winter. Portugal and Spain now have about 60% of the world's population. It became extinct in Great Britain when the last bird was shot in 1832. Recent attempts to reintroduce it into England have met with some success and there is a population of 40 birds on Salisbury Plain, a British
Suchindram Theroor Birds Sanctuary trees and other bushes have formed an island at the centre, which gives refuge and is a resting place for birds. Suchindram is noted for the wide variety of migratory waterbirds that winter there, including: near threatened painted stork and spot-billed pelicans. Also seen here are cattle egrets, great cormorants, darters, purple swamphen, and bronze-winged jacanas. Resident raptors include pied kingfisher, brahminy kite and marsh harrier. Other water birds are dabchick, grey heron, garganey, purple heron, cinnamon bittern, open bill stork, cotton pygmy goose, whiskered tern and little tern, black-winged stilt, greenshank, little ringed plover and the common sandpiper In