Little Brown Bustard

Heterotetrax humilis (Blyth, 1855)

Little Brown Bustard, Heterotetrax humilis, breeds in eastern Ethiopia and northern and central Somalia. It is a bustard of dry shrubland and open grassland in the Horn of Africa. The bird is the smallest member of its genus and reaches about 45 cm. It has a light brown body with whitish underparts, long neck and legs, and a relatively short bill. In flight, both sexes show dark wing feathers and a narrow white wing-bar. The male has a black nape tuft and a black throat marked with white.

Order

Otidiformes

Family

Otididae — Bustards

Breeding range

Africa: e Ethiopia and n, c Somalia