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Hunted by falcons, protected by falconry: Can the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) fly into the 21st century?
Abstract
This article examines the traditional relationship between the houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) and desert falconry in the Middle East and reviews the factors causing the decline of houbara populations. Hunting with falcons, industrial development, changes to traditional agriculture, political instability, subsistence hunting, and wars are important factors combining to threaten this species throughout its range. Many initiatives to conserve the houbara bustard in the Middle East are supported by Arab falconers. The role of national wildlife conservation agencies in the Middle East in establishing captive breeding and restoration programs, habitat protection, ecological studies, biomedical research, local hunting organizations, falcon research groups, sustainable use in range countries, public awareness programs, rehabilitation projects, and international agreements to conserve the houbara bustard are described.
... 3,4 According to the IUCN Red List, MacQueen's bustard is classified as vulnerable. 1 The continuing decline of populations is multifactorial, including habitat displacement through industrial and agricultural development, predation, overgrazing of their habitat, live trade and historically, excessive hunting. 5,6 Conservation of these species is complicated by the traditional and cultural relationships between falconry and hunting of houbara bustards, a practice which can be traced back over two millennia. 5 To allow conservation of both houbara populations and traditional practices, large scale captive breeding programs have been undertaken in the Middle East. ...
... 5,6 Conservation of these species is complicated by the traditional and cultural relationships between falconry and hunting of houbara bustards, a practice which can be traced back over two millennia. 5 To allow conservation of both houbara populations and traditional practices, large scale captive breeding programs have been undertaken in the Middle East. 4,5 There is minimal published literature available regarding normal ocular parameters and pathology of MacQueen's bustards which is an imperative consideration when dealing with captive breeding populations. ...
... 5 To allow conservation of both houbara populations and traditional practices, large scale captive breeding programs have been undertaken in the Middle East. 4,5 There is minimal published literature available regarding normal ocular parameters and pathology of MacQueen's bustards which is an imperative consideration when dealing with captive breeding populations. 6 Although captive bred individuals are typically less fearful than wild individuals, they are prey animals that are minimally handled which predisposes them to injuries and disease including ocular pathology when kept in captivity. ...
Objectives
To determine normal ocular parameters of the MacQueen's bustard ( Chlamydotis macqueenii ) and describe ophthalmic lesions in a captive bred population.
Animals Studied
Captive breeding population of 257 Macqueen's bustards.
Methods
All birds were screened for ocular abnormalities using direct ophthalmoscopy. Abnormalities were photographed. Normative values for Schirmer tear test‐1 (STT‐1), applanation tonometry, aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture, fungal culture, and transcorneal ocular ultrasonography were derived from multiple cohorts of clinically normal adult birds. Five birds with ocular pathology also underwent transcorneal ultrasonography. Statistical comparisons for normative values between OD and OS, and males and females were made using a paired t‐test or Mann–Whitney U ‐test, with a significance level of p < .05.
Results
Mean tear production based on Schirmer tear test 1 (STT‐1) was 10.16 ± 4.61 mm/min (3–21 mm/min). Mean intraocular pressure (IOP) was 12.42 ± 4.94 mm Hg (5–26 mm Hg). Staphylococcus species were the most isolated bacteria from the conjunctival surfaces of normal birds (85%). Significant differences were found in transcorneal ultrasonographic measurements between males and females for axial globe length ( p = .032), vitreous body depth ( p = .049) and lens thickness ( p = .0428). Corneal fibrosis was the most observed ocular abnormality amongst eyes with pathological changes (39%).
Conclusions
Schirmer tear testing, tonometry and transcorneal ultrasound can easily be utilized in MacQueen's bustards and provide reproducible results. Normal parameters for these tests were determined, and common pathological ocular changes were described in this species.
... The two closely related species of houbara bustard occupy huge areas of semi-desert from Morocco to Egypt west of the Nile (African houbara Chlamydotis undulata) and from the Sinai Peninsula across Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia as far as western China (Asian houbara C. macqueenii) (del Hoyo & Collar, 2014). The two species have for many centuries been the favoured avian quarry of Arab falconers (Bailey, Samour, & Bailey, 1998;Upton, 2010), contributing to the living human heritage of falconry in multiple Gulf states (UNESCO, 2016; see Fig. 1). For the past fifty years, however, falconers, assisted by many technological innovations, have been able to travel to hunt across almost every part of the range of the two species; Asian houbara is also hunted by indigenous communities across much of its wintering range and is also trapped in large numbers, mainly for the international live-trade for falcon training and put-and-take hunting in the Arabian Peninsula (Allinson, 2014;Combreau, Launay, & Lawrence, 2005;Goriup, 1997;Hasnain, 2017). ...
... Currently, although Arab falconry parties have only minimal activity in Afghanistan and Iran and may have reduced activity in Pakistan owing to security concerns, combined rates of anthropogenic mortality are undiminished and similar across these three countries (RJB unpublished data), emphasising the contribution of local hunting and trapping to overall offtake (see Figs. 2 and 3). Such hunting is widespread, facilitated by the availability of firearms, including in Iran and Pakistan (Bailey et al., 1998;Combreau et al., 2001) and Uzbekistan where illegal hunting accounts for 23 % of summer adult mortality . Photographs of hunting trophies posted online show that numbers shot can sometimes be considerable, but the magnitude and impact of this problem, and the relative role of local communities or city-based elites, are all unknown. ...
African houbara (Chlamydotis undulata) and Asian houbara (C. macqueenii), classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, have been over-exploited across their global ranges. The highest-profile conservation response has been large-scale releases of captive-bred birds, potentially threatening wild populations through introgression. Options for increasing numbers of the species are habitat management to counter overgrazing (in North Africa and the Middle East), mitigation of powerline collisions, predator control (ethically questionable and impractical), reduction of poaching and trapping, limited captive breeding, and hunting controls. Assuming hunting continues, the best model for conserving both species is a system of sustainable hunting that incorporates stakeholder observance, involvement of stakeholders and local communities in decisions and monitoring, protection of no-hunting areas, scientifically-determined quotas, small-scale use of captive-bred birds, and—if numbers still fail to respond, as a last resort—moratoria. These measures provide the only realistic guarantee for the long-term survival of Arab falconry, a part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage.
... Falconry is the primitive cultural heritage of the Arabs. The Arabs trained their falcons to hunt houbara because it was the most valued source of food and their entry in each autumn was considered as prize from nature (Bailey et al., 1998). Today, the falconry considered as sports; nevertheless, Houbara leftovers the most favored pit-specially their size , their strength , durability and escaping from predators is the important characteristics which make them a challenging prey for predators that's why peoples use them to train their falcons (Al Kharusi and Al Ameri, 2011). ...
... For hundreds of years, the population of the region have used wild-caught and carefully skilled falcons to hunt pit such houybar spp. and, most sought after of all, Asian Houbara (Bailey et al., 1998). It has always been a notorious subject, most likely due to the great difficulties in counting the birds in their natural habitat, even though globally threatened, it is seemingly moribund in almost every array state. ...
... On la retrouve dans l'ensemble des régions arides à semi arides de son aire de répartition, des plaines côtières aux hauts plateaux en passant par les déserts et les steppes. Elle a tendance à fuir la présence de l'Homme (124,129,130 Le déclin généralisé de l'Outarde houbara s'explique par de multiples facteurs au premier rang desquels figurent la dégradation de l'habitat (urbanisation et intensification de l'agriculture), la chasse non régulée et le braconnage (134,135). La chasse au faucon, pratiquée depuis des siècles par les peuples arabes, est une tradition forte dans les pays du Golfe où l'outarde est le gibier de prédilection. L'intensification de cette chasse, grâce à la modernisation des moyens logistiques, en fait la principale menace pour les populations d'outardes (114,136,137). ...
Within poultry breeding sites, wild birds are often suspected to transmit pathogens, especially peridomestic species which can act as bridge hosts. In this study, we explored the role of a number of these species in the epidemiology of avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses in two conservation breeding sites of Houbara bustards in the United Arab Emirates. We set up a multiaxial and multi-methodological approach in order to assess the risks of introduction and transmission of these viruses and to formulate a sanitary control strategy of the risks.
First, we described the wild birds’ communities within breeding sites and in their surroundings in order to appreciate their richness and density and to identify dominant species. We also described the movements of these dominant species between breeding sites and surrounding ones in order to characterize the exchanges between the two compartments. Finally, we described the movements of dominant species within breeding sites in outdoor aviaries areas and their contacts with captive Houbara bustards. In parallel, we evaluated the prevalence of the studied viruses in dominant species and analysed their dynamics within breeding sites. Then, crossing all these data, we evaluated the epidemiological risks of dominant species to introduce and transmit these viruses to captive Houbara bustards. Finally, taking all our results together, we formulated a sanitary control strategy of the risk of pathogens transmission from wild birds to captive Houbara bustards, reaching our study’s goal.
... Similarly, the high price of Tiloor attracts poachers and fal- coners. As a result, approximately, 3000-14,000 Tiloors are illegally taken from Pakistan ( Bailey et al. 1998;Ata et al. 2019). On the other hand, released birds from captive breed- ing centres established in many countries for population restoration showed only 10 the survival rate in winter season ( Burnside et al. 2016). ...
... Falconry, poaching and falconry-related trade. Hunting and poaching pose the main threat to Asian Houbara: what has been termed 'technofalconry' (Bailey et al. 1998) has combined with increasing local capacity, greater access to guns, better roads, better communication systems for hunters, and increased opportunity (hunting restricted to winter before the collapse of the Soviet Union is now continuous from autumn to spring) to exert pressure that wild populations evidently cannot absorb. The large hunt totals (see under 'Pakistan' Asian Houbara, page 6) are doubtless minima; Arab falconers are very discreet about their activities, while local poaching is, by definition, illegal and therefore mainly clandestine. ...
The inherent defencelessness against natural predators of bustards, which have relatively small bills and can neither perch in trees nor take
refuge in water at night, renders them warier than other large-bodied birds. They are therefore dependent on large areas of little-disturbed,
little-developed open country within which they can see and keep danger at a good distance. In Asia (here including Central Asia and Asian
Russia), six species—Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax (IUCN global category Near Threatened), Great Bustard Otis tarda (Vulnerable), Asian Houbara
Chlamydotis macqueenii (Vulnerable), Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (Critically Endangered), Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis
(Critically Endangered) and Lesser Florican Sypheotides indicus (Endangered)—are already at serious risk of extinction. Great Bustard (of the
nominate race) is struggling to survive in Asian Russia (<200 individuals), Kazakhstan (100–1,000) and China (maximum 52 seen in extensive
surveys, 2014–2016), while in Asian Russia the eastern race dybowskii numbers just 380–430 (with only 5% in protected areas), fewer than 1,000
in Mongolia and 600 in China. Little Bustard is now largely restricted to Kazakhstan and westernmost Asian Russia and, although its status
evidently improved in the 1990s with the post-Soviet abandonment of agriculture in Central Asia, re-intensification of farming is poised to
cause new declines. Asian Houbara has a population claimed to be between 50,000–100,000 individuals, but is certainly declining despite largescale
captive breeding programmes, with one study suggesting an offtake of 27.1% in the years 1994–2008 when the maximum sustainable
level was 7.2%, and another indicating a current annual population decline in Uzbekistan of 9.4%. Great Indian Bustard (<200 birds in the
most recent assessments, some in unviable habitat fragments), Bengal Florican (225–249 males estimated for South Asia; several hundred in
Cambodia) and Lesser Florican (270 males estimated in 2017 compared with 1,103–1,765 in 1994–1999) are all in extreme trouble. Habitat
change, chiefly in the form of rapid and widespread agricultural intensification (mechanisation, chemical applications, overgrazing, increased
fencing and new choices of crop), but also involving infrastructure developments and disturbance, is probably the single biggest threat; only
the semi-desert-dwelling Asian Houbara remains relatively unaffected. Hunting and poaching is a particularly serious threat to Great and Little
Bustards and Asian Houbara, as well as Great Indian Bustard. Powerlines are known to have killed and injured birds of five of the six species
and currently are the most serious cause of mortality to Great Indian Bustards, and problems caused by powerlines are anticipated to intensify
for all species. Predation, most seriously by uncontrolled dogs, has been registered as a strong negative influence on Great Bustard and seems
likely also to affect Little Bustard, Great Indian Bustard and both floricans. The long-term prospects of all six species are extremely bleak unless
their conservation is prioritised and significantly strengthened. Adult survival and productivity are key to the health and recovery of bustard
populations and both need to be improved through well-managed nature reserves (organised along flyways for long-distance migrants),
plus: special protection of areas where males display and around which females are known or expected to breed; continuous unfragmented
landscapes subsidised for low-impact farming with reduced grazing pressure within which the birds’ social dynamics are unconstrained;
the strategic planting of crops favoured by all species; strict and strong regulation of both powerlines and fencing within and beyond those
landscapes; equally strict and strong control of hunting, poaching, dog predation and inappropriate grass-fires; and sustained campaigns of
public awareness and engagement. The model of Castro Verde Special Protection Area in Portugal, where Great and Little Bustard numbers have
multiplied and the livelihoods of communities have been supported through subsidy, provides evidence that practical solutions are possible.
Detailed cataloguing of records and intensive biological research programmes are also needed for all species, together with support for local
conservation groups and scrupulous review of all landscape-related plans to prevent adverse developments. Hunting of Asian Houbara must
come under national systems of control based on an internationally agreed strategy. Governments must now prioritise the conservation of
bustards as the burden of responsibilities is too great for NGOs to bear alone. International coordination and collaboration will, with high levels
of communication, be crucial to success. The setting of time-bound targets is required to spur key staff into rapid action.
... Bien que les densités sur l'ensemble de l'aire de distribution des deux espèces sont méconnues, nombreux auteurs s'accordent sur le fait que les effectifs du genre Chlamydotis ont subi une baisse drastique durant ces dernières décennies (Collar 1980;Goriup 1997Goriup , 1999 Une activité cynégétique non contrôlée, exercée par les fauconniers des pays de la péninsule arabique, associée à un braconnage intensif des individus sauvages revendus au marché noir et destinés aux entrainements des faucons, sont les deux causes majeures du déclin des populations d'outarde houbara nord-africaine et asiatique (Bailey et al. 1998(Bailey et al. , 2000Combreau et al. 2001;Goriup 1997;Tourenq et al. 2004Tourenq et al. , 2005Riou et al. 2010). À ces deux causes s'ajoutent la dégradation et la perte d'habitats favorables liées à l'intensification de l'agriculture et l'urbanisation croissante (Chammem et al. 2003;Goriup 1997;Lavee 1985;Saint Jalme & Van Heezik 1996). ...
Dans un contexte de sélection sexuelle, les systèmes de communication permettant l’attraction et la stimulation du partenaire sexuel et la compétition entre individus du même sexe sont indispensables. Ceci est particulièrement vrai chez les espèces à système d’appariement polygyne de type lek, où les mâles rassemblés dans l’espace sont en compétition pour l’accès aux femelles. Chez notre sujet d’étude, l’outarde houbara nord-africaine les males réalisent des parades incluant des démonstrations visuelles et des vocalisations appelées booms, sur des sites espacés les uns des autres par des distances importantes dans un système qualifié de lek explosé. Notre objectif était d’étudier les systèmes de codage-décodage des informations exprimées durant la parade des mâles chez cette espèce. Nous avons démontré l’existence d’un codage de l’identité individuelle porté par des paramètres visuels et des paramètres acoustiques des vocalisations. Des associations significatives entre des paramètres des booms et des caractéristiques physiques et comportementales des mâles susceptibles de refléter leur qualité, ont également été mises en évidence. Ainsi, les mâles qui produisent les booms les plus graves avaient les masses les plus importantes et paradaient le plus intensément. Lorsque des interactions agonistiques étaient simulées expérimentalement en diffusant des leurres acoustiques, les mâles avaient des réponses comportementales différentes en fonction de la fréquence des booms diffusés. Ainsi le niveau fréquentiel des booms des autres mâles est effectivement perçu et décodé par les individus en compétition. Par ailleurs, plusieurs paramètres des booms sont génétiquement déterminés et héritables, et pourraient porter une information sur l’apparentement entre individus.Certains paramètres sont également liés à la consanguinité des individus. Nous avons montré également que les booms sont particulièrement bien adaptés à la communication à grande distance. En effet, les booms sont de très basse fréquence, se propagent à des distances supérieures à 640 m, et les paramètres supportant le codage-décodage de l’information sont résistants à la propagation et produits de manière redondante. Enfin, les signaux acoustiques et des signaux visuels et semblent agir en synergie (multimodalité) ce qui pourraient améliorer l’efficacité de la communication à grande distance. Ainsi notre étude a démontré que des informations complexes sont transmises durant la parade des mâles au travers de signaux acoustiques et visuels au sein d’un réseau de communication à grande distance.
... More recently, NARC had first hand information that up to 3,600 houbara had been traded by a single Iranian poacher during the winter 2007-2008. Furthermore, large numbers of birds die during transport, as the birds are kept under unhygienic and crowded conditions (Bailey et al., 1998). This trade in the UAE is a strong matter of concern for conservationists and falconers working for the sustainability of Arab falconry. ...
Iran hosts both resident and migratory populations of the vulnerable Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis macqueenii, especially in the region of Yazd where resident birds occur. For investigation of its density and abundance, 8000 ha of the Harat area in Yazd province were studied from February to March 2006. The distance sampling method (line transect) in different plant communities, with a completely randomized sampling design, was used. In total, 766 km of transects were surveyed and 147 individuals were counted. Based on distance sampling analysis we found that the Houbara Bustard density is 0.87 individual per km2. The highest density was recorded in Seidlitzia rosmarinus and Artemisia sieberi plant communities.
Following introductions in 1993 and 1994, a population of 35 houbara bustards was established in the Mahazat as-Sayd protected area, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. First breeding was recorded in spring 1995 following a period of heavy rainfall. Two clutches of one and two eggs, respectively, and one brood of three 2-week-old chicks were located. All eggs were infertile, possibly due to a low density of breeding males or inexperience of the females. One nest was abandoned and the single infertile egg in the other nest was exchanged with a fertile one. The breeding females were aged 25 months, 24 months, and 12 months (the fertile one) at egg-laying. The fertile nest was constructed on the border of the home range of the breeding male whereas other nests were constructed outside of the range of any potential breeding male. The adult male likely to be the father of one brood was never observed with ‘its’ family. Once the chicks were older than 30 days, satellite mature and immature males were occasionally observed with broods. Chicks flew at 38–42 days of age but stayed with the mother until at least 3·5 months of age.
Houbara bustards Chlamydotis undulata are uncommon winter visitors to Abu Dhabi. People attempting to increase numbers are considering establishing reserves and restoring habitats but they are hampered by poor knowledge of the bird's requirements. We studied winter habitat use by recording the locations of three satellite-tagged houbara, verified by the presence of tracks, and detailed habitat assessments at the landscape scale. Our initial results show that houbara used habitat in patches averaging about 40 km2 and spaced 14–34 km apart. Patches were used for up to three weeks before the birds moved on. Habitats were characterised by flat or gently undulating terrain, and a higher than average incidence of vegetation. These results indicate a conflict between rural development and houbara, both of which favour flat, vegetated plains over sand dunes. We suggest that Managed Resource Protected Areas should be established for the houbara and that relatively small changes to forestry practice could provide the birds with suitable wintering habitat within developed areas.
The Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata is a polytypic species with three subspecies classified according size, colour and distribution: C. u. undulata, C. u. fuertaventurae and C. u. macqueenii. A comparative study of the male display behaviour of these three subspecies has shown similarities between C. u. undulata and C. u. fuertaventurae, whereas appreciable differences exist in the visual and auditory aspects of the display between C. u. undulata and C. u. macqueenii. These observations make the current taxonomy of Houbara Bustard questionable, particularly in view of the major importance of the sexual display in bird speciation processes. Furthermore, DNA analysis of the cytochrome b gene indicates the existence of a significant differentiation between the C. u. undulata and C. u. macqueenii populations. These findings indicate the need for a revision of the taxonomy of genus Chlamydotis which should separate the macqueenii and undulata populations at species rank. Until further investigations are completed, C. u. fuertaventurae should be kept as a subspecies of undulata since the courtship display is alike in both populations.
The houbara Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii, is an endangered resident species in the semi-desert and desert parts of Israel. Despite legal protection, considerable increase in plant food and low predation pressure on adults, the population size in the Northwestern Negev seems to have been constant since the late 1970s, and disturbance to nesting is proposed as the main hazard to the population.Breeding success of the densest houbara population was studied: during 1982–1985 sixteen nests were found, and of the 45 eggs recorded, 33% were lost due to predation, and 12% were unfertilised or contained dead embryos. The probability of an egg hatching and the chick surviving to a few hours old was 0·34, and to near-adult-size 0·10. Assuming that females breed from the age of 24 months, a life time of 9 14 years would just suffice to support zero growth rate of the population.Movement of herds of small livestock in the nesting area is the cause of the low nesting success. Protection of the houbara incubation area as a sanctuary during the breeding season would enable the birds to improve breeding success.
In order to define the features that determine habitat suitability for the houbara (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii), a study of habitat use was carried out in Baynunah, United Arab Emirates, during the winter of 1993/94. This study was made by following the houbara and their tracks. The results showed no difference between the tracks, the sidelines and the control lines with respect to the plant species, phenology, substrate and topography, but a higher density of shrubs and higher grass cover were recorded along the track. Furthermore, the behaviour of the birds varied depending on the combination of plant cover, substrate and topography.