The Tetrax tetrax is commonly know as the Little Bustard, it is pheasant sized bird. It grows to be about 18 inches in height and has a wingspan of about 43 inches. The male birds normally have a grey head with a brown lower body. They have a black neck bordered with white trim. The females are very plain in their look. They are mostly brown with spots of black and white specks. The female looks like a young male in appearance. In flight the wings have a very white under bottom. This bird has also adapted to long legs to run across arid land.

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Most range from Europe to Asia . Most of these birds live in dry, rugged grasslands. The male and female little bustards’ like different areas. The male generally prefer shorter grass which allows it to display their effectivity to females. The female typically prefers taller, denser grass to shelter in. In the winter months, the little bustards tends to select agricultural habitats such as winter stubble, fallow land or leguminous (peas, beans, clovers, alfalfa) crops which have a higher availability of food as well as shelter from potential predators.

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Adults eat mainly plants like , young shoots, leaves, flowers, grasses and cereal grains. When breeding on cultivated land, they eat Leguminosae and Cruciferae. Beetles and grasshoppers are eaten in the summer. The chicks eat mainly on insects during the first days of life, especially grasshoppers. They will also eat rodents and reptiles.

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Female Little Bustards  build nests on the ground in low grass, most of the time they place them in fallows or arable fields. The eggs are normally laid from sometime from February to June, usually they lay 3 to 4 eggs which don’t hatch for 20 to 22 days.  When the chicks are born they are fed and cared for by the female. They become fully grown at 50 to 55 days. The young possibly remain with female during the first winter. Sexual maturity is reached in the first or second year for females and the second year for males.

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This is my bird the Tetrax tetrax known as the Little Bustard. They are quite interesting to learn about. I learned that the male and female look completely different. I also learned that they are omnivores and eat what they find. They live anywhere from Europe to Asia and live in dry grasslands. They aren’t the biggest bird, but aren’t small either. The last thing I learned was that the females lay their eggs in open ground, and the babies stay with the mom however long depending on the sex.  

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Author: Madison S 

Published: 02/2013