The Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (hereafter GIB) is one of the heaviest flying birds and among the rarest species in the world. The common names of GIB are Ghorad (Gujarat) and Godawan (Rajasthan). The GIB is also the state bird of Rajasthan. About GIB A grassland species, Great Indian Bustard, is almost exclusively found in India. It is Critically Endangered (IUCN 2018) and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Characteristics The great Indian bustard can easily be distinguished by its black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and head. The body is brownish and the wings are marked with black, brown and grey. Males and females generally grow to the same height and weight but males have larger black crowns and a black band across the breast. They breed mostly during the monsoon season when females lay a single egg on open ground. Males have a gular pouch, which helps produce a resonant booming mating call to attract females and can be heard up to a distance of 500 metres. Males play no role in the incubation and care of the young, which remain with the mother till the next breeding season. These birds are opportunist eaters. Their diet ranges widely depending on the seasonal availability of food. They feed on grass seeds, insects like grasshoppers and beetles, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles. Historically distributed across the hot arid and semi-arid grasslands and desert, GIB are currently restricted in only five isolated regions in India - Thar landscape of Rajasthan, Gujarat (Lala-Naliya Sanctuary and its neighbourhood in Kachchh), Maharashtra (GIB Sanctuary in Solapur, alongside Chandrapur and Nagpur), Andhra Pradesh (Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary and its neighbourhood in Kurnool) and Karnataka (Ballari) (Dutta et al. 2011). The rapid decline in its population across its distribution has already alarmed wildlife experts, ornithologists and bird lovers across the world. The main reasons cited for its decline are habitat loss due to conversion of grasslands to other purposes, anthropogenic and related biotic disturbances during its breeding season and frequent poaching of the species as game bird. Conservation efforts The Great Indian Bustard is listed in Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby according it the highest degree of legal protection from hunting. Important habitats of Great Indian Bustards are designated as National Parks/ sanctuaries for their better protection. The species has been identified for conservation efforts under the component ‘Species Recovery Programme’ of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- Development of Wildlife Habitats. Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/ Union Territory Governments under the scheme for providing better protection to Great Indian Bustard and its habitat. Conservation breeding of the Great Indian Bustard has been undertaken in collaboration with Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra Forest Departments and technical support of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun with the aim of building a captive population of the species for release in the wild and promoting in-situ conservation of the species. Sites for establishment of a conservation breeding centres for the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican birds have been identified in consultation with the Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Wildlife Institute of India and international experts. A satellite conservation breeding facility has been established at Sam, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Project GIB was envisioned in 2011 to conserve the Great Indian Bustard in its natural habitats, including Gujarat, and was formally launched in 2016. In March 2026, a significant milestone was acheived in the conservation of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB). Gujarat witnessed the birth of a chick after a decade, in Kutch, through a novel conservation measure known as the Jumpstart Approach. The effort was planned a year back which was coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), along with the State Forest Departments of Rajasthan and Gujarat and the Wildlife Institute of India. This is the first inter-state jump start initiative of the GIB in the country, that was successfully executed in Gujarat. It is important to mention that in Gujarat only three female GIBs are surviving in the grasslands of Kutch, leaving no possibility of having a fertile egg in the wild. It took an arduous 770km road journey to transport an incubated egg to the desired nesting site in Kutch, which was undertaken without a break by creating a halt-free corridor from Sam (Rajasthan) to Naliya (Gujarat). Sources : Wildlife Institute of India, WWF.