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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{About|the North African species|the Asian houbara that was considered a subspecies|MacQueen's bustard}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Houbara035.JPG
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2023 |title=''Chlamydotis undulata'' |article-number=e.T22728245A208501099 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22728245A208501099.en}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Chlamydotis
| species = undulata
| authority = ([[Joseph Franz von Jacquin|Jacquin]], 1784)
| range_map = Houbara bustard.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''Ch. undulata'' {{leftlegend|#916549|Extant (resident)|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#D97F46|Possibly extant (resident)|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#FCB561|Possibly extinct|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''African houbara''' ('''''Chlamydotis undulata'''''), also known as the '''houbara bustard''' (''houbara'' from {{langx|ar|حُبَارَى|ḥubārā}} for bustards in general), is a relatively small [[bustard]] native to [[North Africa]], where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] since 2014.<ref name=iucn/> There is a population in the [[Canary Islands]] which was assessed as [[Near Threatened]] in 2015, but has since also been assessed as Vulnerable.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2021 |title=''Chlamydotis undulata'' (Europe assessment) |article-number=e.T22728245A166436759 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22728245A166436759.en}}</ref>

It is dull brown with black markings on the wings, a greyish neck and a black ruff along the side of the neck. Males are larger and heavier than females.

==Description==
The African houbara is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures {{cvt|55|-|75|cm}} in length and spans {{cvt|135|-|170|cm}} across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the long wings show large areas of black and brown on the flight feathers. The sexes are similar, but the female, between {{cvt|55|-|65|cm}} tall, is rather smaller and greyer above than the male, at {{cvt|65|-|75|cm}} tall.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ali, S.|year=1993|title=The Book of Indian Birds|publisher=Bombay Natural History Society|location=Bombay|isbn=978-0-19-563731-1}}</ref><ref name=collins/>{{verify source|date=October 2023 |reason=Presumptive fix for undefined reference}} The body mass is {{convert|1.8|-|3.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males and {{convert|1.2|-|1.7|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in females.<ref name = "CRC">''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0-8493-4258-5}}.</ref><ref name=collins/>{{verify source|date=October 2023 |reason=Presumptive fix for undefined reference}}

==Taxonomy==
''Psophia undulata'' was the [[scientific name]] proposed by [[Joseph Franz von Jacquin]] in 1784 who described a houbara brought from [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] to [[Vienna]]'s [[Tiergarten Schönbrunn]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Jacquin, J. F. |year=1784 |title=Beyträge zur Geschichte der Vögel |location= Wien |publisher=C. F. Wappler |chapter=''Psophia undulata'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/beytrgezurgesc00jacq/page/24 |page=24}}</ref>
''Otis macqueenii'' was proposed by [[John Edward Gray]] in 1832 for a bustard from [[India]] drawn by [[Thomas Hardwicke]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |year=1830–1832 |title=Illustrations of Indian Zoology; Chiefly Selected from the Collection of Major-General Hardwicke, F.R.S. Volume 2 |location=London |publisher=Treuttel, Würtz, Treuttel, Jun. and Richter |page=Plate 47 |chapter=MacQueen's bustard ''Otis macqueenii''. Gray |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/IllustrationsOfIndianZoology2/page/n101}}</ref>
The African houbara was subordinated to the genus ''[[Chlamydotis]]'' by [[René Lesson]] in 1839.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lesson |first1=R. |year=1839 |title=Oisseaux inédits |journal=Revue Zoologique par la Société Cuvierienne |volume=II |issue=2 |pages=43−47 |url=https://archive.org/details/revuezoologiquep39soci/page/46}}</ref>
''Houbara fuertaventurae'' was proposed by [[Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild|Walter Rothschild]] and [[Ernst Hartert]] in 1894 for a houbara from [[Fuerteventura]] island.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rothschild, W. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hartert, E. |year=1894 |title=On a new Bustard from the Palearctic Region |journal=Novitates Zoologicae |volume=1 |issue=5 |page=689 |url=https://archive.org/details/novitateszoologi01lond/page/688/mode/2up}}</ref>

[[MacQueen's bustard]] was long regarded a [[subspecies]] of the African houbara.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. |year=1983 |title=A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent |publisher=Bombay Natural History Society |location=Bombay |chapter=''Chlamydotis undulata'' |page=106, Plate 37}}</ref> It was proposed as a distinct [[species]] in 2003 because of differences in plumage, vocalizations and courtship behaviour.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Knox |first1=A. G. |last2=Collinson |first2=M. |last3=Helbig |first3=A. J. |last4=Parkin |first4=D. T. |last5=Sangster |first5=G. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Taxonomic recommendations for British birds |journal=Ibis |volume=144 |issue=4 |pages=707–710 |doi=10.1046/j.1474-919X.2002.00110.x|s2cid=82531549 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
The [[British Ornithologists' Union's Taxonomic Records Committee]]'s decision to accept this split has been questioned on the grounds that the differences in the male courtship displays may be functionally trivial, and would not prevent interbreeding, whereas a difference in a pre-copulation display would indicate that the two are separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cowan |first=P. J. |year=2004 |title=Are there really two species of houbara? |journal=[[British Birds (magazine)|British Birds]] |volume=97 |issue=7 |pages=346–347}}</ref> The committee responded to this scepticism, by explaining that there are differences in both courtship and pre-copulation displays.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Collinson |first=M. |year=2004 |title=Are there really two species of houbara? A response from the TSC |journal=British Birds |volume=97 |issue=7 |page=348}}</ref>

[[File:Chlamydotis undulata on Lanzarote, June 2013 (2).jpg|thumb|Canarian houbara in Lanzarote, Canary Islands]]
Results of analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] sequences of 73 ''Chlamydotis'' samples indicates that the houbara bustard and MacQueen's bustard [[Genetic divergence|genetically diverged]] around 430,000 years ago from a [[common ancestor]]. The divergence between the African and [[Canarian houbara]] was estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Mitochondrial control region diversity of the houbara bustard ''Chlamydotis undulata'' complex and genetic structure along the Atlantic seaboard of North Africa |first1=Y. |last1=Idaghdour |first2=D. |last2=Broderick |first3=A. |last3=Korrida |first4=F. |last4=Chbel |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.02039.x |pmid=14653787 |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=43–54 |year=2004|bibcode=2004MolEc..13...43I |s2cid=25591653 }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The African houbara is found in North Africa west of the [[Nile]], mainly in the western part of the Sahara desert region in [[Algeria]], [[Egypt]], [[Libya]], [[Mauritania]], [[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Western Sahara]]. Some old records exist from Sudan as well. A small population is found in the [[Canary Islands]]. The Asian houbara or MacQueen's bustard which was earlier included in this species occurs east of the Sinai Peninsula. The North African species is sedentary unlike the migratory northern populations of MacQueen's bustards.

The subspecies ''fuertaventurae'' of the [[Canary Islands]] is highly restricted and endangered. A 1997 survey found a total population of about 500 birds.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Distribution, status and conservation of the houbara bustard ''Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae'' Rothschild & Hartert, 1894, in the Canary Islands, November–December 1994|journal=Ardeola|volume=44|issue=1|year=1997|pages=61–69|author1=Aurelio Martin |author2=Juan Antonio Lorenzo |author3=Miguel Angel Hernandez |author4=Manuel Nogales |author5=Félix Manuel Medina |author6=Juan Domingo Delgado |author7=José Julián Naranjo |author8=Vicente Quilis |author9=Guillermo Delgado |url=http://www.ardeola.org/files/342.pdf}}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Chlamydotis undulata MWNH 0052.JPG|thumb|upright|Houbara bustard egg in the collection of the [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
The African houbara has a flamboyant display raising the white feathers of the head and neck and withdrawing the head. Females lay two to four eggs on the ground.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gaucher |first1=P. |title=Breeding biology of the Houbara Bustard ''Chlamydotis undulate undulata'' in Algeria |journal=Alauda |date=1995 |volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=291–298}}</ref>
It rarely vocalizes, but males make 3–5 low booming notes during breeding displays.<ref name=collins>{{cite book |last1=Svensson |first1=L. |last2=Mullarney |first2=K. |last3=Zetterstrom |first3=D. |title=Collins Bird Guide |date=2009 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London, UK |edition=Second}}</ref>

It is omnivorous, eating [[seeds]], [[insects]] and other small creatures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bourass |first1=K. |last2=Leger |first2=J.-F. |last3=Zaime |first3=A. |last4=Qninba |first4=A. |last5=Rguibi |first5=H. |last6=El Agbani |first6=M. A. |last7=Benhoussa |first7=A. |last8=Hingrat |first8=Y. |title=Observations on the diet of the North African houbara bustard during the non-breeding season |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |date=2012 |volume=82 |pages=53–59|doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.02.016 |bibcode=2012JArEn..82...53B }}</ref>

==Threats==
In North Africa, the houbara bustard is hunted by [[falconry|falconers]] and by hunters with guns. The populations declined in the two decades before 2004, but have been increasing since.<ref name=iucn/>

==Conservation ==
The ''International Fund for Houbara Conservation'' developed and implemented a global conservation strategy over the past forty years with the objective of ensuring a sustainable future in the wild through conservation programmes and management plans. This strategy consists of an integrated approach combining ecology, protection measures in the wild, conservation breeding, and reinforcement programmes.<ref name="TheNational 23-02-2019">{{cite news |publisher=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |title=Fifty Houbara birds released into the UAE desert - in pictures |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/fifty-houbara-birds-released-into-the-uae-desert-in-pictures-1.829114 |date=2019 |access-date=2019-02-28}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |author=Stone, R. |year=2008 |title=The Houbara: Headed for Oblivion? |journal=Science |volume=321 |issue=5895 |page=1441 |url=http://www.bio-nica.info/biblioteca/Stone2008TheHoubara.pdf|doi=10.1126/science.321.5895.1441 |pmid=18787147 |s2cid=26931495 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Hingrat, Y., Saint Jalme, M., Ysnel, F., Le Nuz, E. and Lacroix, F. |year=2007 |title=Habitat use and mating system of the houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata undulata'') in a semi-desertic area of North Africa: implications for conservation |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=148 |issue=1 |pages=39−52 |doi=10.1007/s10336-006-0098-9 |bibcode=2007JOrni.148...39H |s2cid=9173206 }}
* [http://conservationofhoubara.com/release-of-houbara-bustard-in-pakistan-by-international-fund-for-houbara-conservation-abu-dhabi/ Release of Houbara back to nature] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913175336/http://conservationofhoubara.com/release-of-houbara-bustard-in-pakistan-by-international-fund-for-houbara-conservation-abu-dhabi/ |date=2016-09-13 }}

== External links ==
* [https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/african-houbara-chlamydotis-undulata BirdLife Species Factsheet.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110205082133/http://www.ead.ae/en/en-us/national.avian.research.center.aspx National Avian Research Centre]
* [https://houbarafund.org/en/home International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224222041/http://houbarafund.org/en/home |date=2020-02-24 }}

{{Otididae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q290871}}

[[Category:Chlamydotis|houbara bustard]]
[[Category:Birds of North Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1784|houbara bustard]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Joseph Franz von Jacquin|houbara bustard]]

African houbara - Revision history

MerryHarris567: Stub