Great Bustard

A bird of open, flat grasslands and cereal farmland, it moves slowly and deliberately across the ground, often pausing to feed on plant matter and invertebrates, and tends to gather in loose single-sex flocks outside the breeding season. Look for a large, heavy-bodied shape low against the skyline, the male's striking white whisker plumes and chestnut breast band visible at close range, and listen for the low, grunting calls produced during the spectacular foam-beard lekking display. Early spring mornings offer the best views, when males gather on traditional display grounds and the low-angle light catches their fanned white wing and tail feathers against bare agricultural fields.