A rare animal that was once common

The Australian Bustard (Ardeotis australis) is a large, mostly ground-dwelling bird, of grasslands and grassy woodlands. It feeds on invertebrates, small vertebrates, seeds, fruits, flowers and soft leaf material.  Bustards require large areas to roam while they search for food and will travel significant distances (by foot or flight) to find favourable habitats.  Large numbers may congregate in areas affected by grasshopper or mouse plagues.  They lay their eggs directly on the ground and only the females take responsibility for incubation and raising the young.  The species has been categorised as critically endangered in Victoria, and is listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (FFG).  It is also regarded as threatened in NSW and the Northern Territory although populations in Western Australia and Queensland are still considered to be safe.

A quick glance at the distribution map below may give the impression that Bustards are quite widespread in Victoria.  The problem with the map is the majority of the records are sixty years old or more and represent the locations of extinct populations.  The only regularly viewed populations of the species are in western Victoria, on the southern boundaries of the Big Desert, and current estimates suggest that fewer than 50 individuals may exist in the wild.

Bustards were once widespread and fairly abundant in Victoria and formed a significant part of the diet of the Koories.  They also found their way onto the tables of early European settlers who took a much heavier toll on the Bustard numbers than the Koories ever did.  Additions to the human diet is probably a relatively minor reason for the species decline, the major factor being the almost complete conversion of native grasslands to European-style pastures and single-species crops.   The lack of suitable habitat and diversity of food, competition from sheep, cattle and rabbits, and predation by foxes and cats (particularly of eggs and young) created formidable obstacles for Bustards in the early parts of the 20^th century.  Even the use of poisoned baits for rabbit control, which the Bustards also ate, had a devastating effect on some local populations.  By the 1960s the numbers were so low that many biologists thought the species had become extinct in this state.

Grasslands have become the most altered ecosystems worldwide due to the pre-eminence of grasses and grazing animals in agricultural economies.  When European settlers arrived in Australia they looked for grazing land for their sheep and cattle and then for suitable soils for cereal crops.  Both of these were found in the native grasslands and grassy woodlands.  As a consequence the animals and plants that occupied these ecosystems at the time of European settlement are now amongst the most threatened.  Other grassland animals such as the Plains Wanderer, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot and the Striped Legless Lizard have all suffered as a result of the alienation of the huge areas of native grassland that once covered Victoria.