Ardeotis australis
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Australian bustard (Ardeotis australis) is a large ground-dwelling bird that is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It stands at about one metre (3 ft 3 in) high, and its wingspan is around twice that length. The species is nomadic, flying to areas when food becomes plentiful, and capable of travelling long distances. They were once widespread and common to the open plains of Australia, but became rare in regions that have been used for farming. The bustard is omnivorous, mostly consuming the fruit or seed of plants, but also eating invertebrates such as crickets, grasshoppers, smaller mammals, birds and reptiles.
The species is also commonly referred to as the plains turkey, and in Central Australia as the bush turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people, who hunt it, although the latter name may also be used for the Australian brushturkey, as well as the orange-footed scrubfowl.
The species was first described by John Edward Gray in 1829, who assigned it the name Otis australis. Gray's specimen was obtained in New South Wales and was held in the General T. Davies collection. The whereabouts... Wikipedia →
Call0:23
Australia · 2013
© Marc Anderson · XC156198 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Territory Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Alice Springs Desert Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Hunter Valley Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Ningaloo Marine Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Bustard sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 95 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 41st most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Bustard in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, May and August–October, the lowest months. That is one of Ningaloo Marine Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 50 mm in June.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian Bustard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Australian Bustard sightings, Ningaloo Marine Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Cape Range (Australia, about 20%) and Kakadu National Park (Australia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australian Bustard is recorded against all the birds logged in Ningaloo Marine Park (95 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.
