bustard

American  

[buhs-terd] / ˈbʌs tərd /

noun

1. any of several large, chiefly terrestrial and ground-running birds of the family Otididae, of the Old World and Australia, related to the cranes.

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bustard British  

/ ˈbʌstəd /

noun

1. any terrestrial bird of the family Otididae , inhabiting open regions of the Old World: order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc). They have long strong legs, a heavy body, a long neck, and speckled plumage

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Etymology

Origin of bustard

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, apparently blend of Middle French bistarde ( Old Italian bistarda ) and Middle French oustarde, both from Latin avis tarda (Pliny) literally, “slow bird,” though tarda may be a non- Latin word, taken erroneously as feminine of tardus

Example Sentences

Last month brought good news for the great Indian bustard, a critically endangered bird found mainly in India.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024

For one, the great Indian bustard has good peripheral vision but poor frontal vision, making it difficult for them to spot power lines until they fly too close to them.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024

The study states that growing the area of fallow lands -- the unsown farmland -- helps to stabilize the population of the little bustard in Catalonia.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024

Nomadic people used the birds to hunt prey such as the Houbara bustard, a large, fast bird that has been hunted so aggressively it is now an endangered species in Qatar.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2022

Walsingham, Lord, and his tenantry, 226; shooting feats by, 225, 393; elected High Steward of Cambridge University, 421; re-introduction of the great bustard, 511.

From Norfolk Annals A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 2 by Mackie, Charles