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

See Examples For:

bustard

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

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2024

The collaboration between scientists, farmers and managers is crucial to improve the protection of the little bustard, an endangered steppe-land bird in Spain due to human activity.

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

Numerous private parties began travelling from the Gulf to hunt the houbara bustard, a migratory bird that comes to the south-west of Balochistan in winter.

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2021

Here and there flew a bustard, or a wheat-ear; all else seemed unpeopled air, and uncultivated waste.

From The Wanderer (Volume 5 of 5) or, Female Difficulties by Burney, Fanny