Tetrax tetrax
Silhouette: David González del Portillo · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bustard sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 451 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 67th most-seen of the 202 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Little Bustard in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to February, the lowest months.
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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Little Bustard sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Doñana National Park (Spain, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Bustard is recorded against all the birds logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (451 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.
