Tetrax tetrax
Silhouette: David González del Portillo · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Tetrax. It breeds in Southern Europe and in Western and Central Asia. The little bustard was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other bustards in the genus Otis and coined the binomial name Otis tetrax. Linnaeus designated the type locality as Europe but this has been restricted to France. The little bustard is now placed in its own genus Tetrax that was introduced in 1817 by Thomas Forster. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name and the specific epithet tetrax is the Latin word for an unidentified gamebird.
Although the smallest Palearctic bustard, the little bustard is still pheasant-sized at 42–45 cm (17–18 in) long with a 90–110 cm (35–43 in) wingspan and a weight of 830 g (29 oz). In flight, the long wings are extensively white. The breeding male is brown above and white below, with a grey head and a black neck bordered above and below by white.
The female and non-breeding male lack the dramatic neck pattern... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France |
No species of the same family or order lives in Doñana National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bustard sighting in Doñana National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 231st most-seen of the 234 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bustard in Doñana National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Bustard sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Little Bustard sightings, Doñana National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Bustard is recorded against all the birds logged in Doñana National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
