Great Indian bustard

Great Indian bustard large bird of the bustard family, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. The great Indian bustard inhabits dry grasslands and scrublands on the Indian subcontinent; its largest populations are found in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India, the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican and the Bengal florican. GIBs’ historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent but it has now shrunken to just 10 per cent of it. Among the heaviest birds with flight, GIBs prefer grasslands as their habitats.