Little Bustard

(Tetrax telrax), a bird of the family Otididae of the order Gruiformes. The little bustard ranges from 43 to 50 cm in length and from 0.6 to 1 kg in weight. The back is dull brown with dark striations, and the belly is white; in the male the neck is black with white stripes. The little bustard is distributed in northwestern and northern Africa, southern Europe, and southwestern Asia. In the USSR it occurs in the steppe zone from the Ukraine to eastern Kazakhstan and in Transcaucasia. The little bustard inhabits only virgin steppe; it is very rare in cultivated areas. The nest is constructed on the ground. A clutch contains three to five spotted green eggs, which are incubated by the female for about three weeks. Both male and female care for the young. The diet consists primarily of plant matter but also includes insects, notably grasshoppers. In the USSR the little bustard is accorded full protection.