Breeding system of Houbara Bustard 
Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii: 
preliminary observations. 
Frederic Launay and Ronald Loughland 
The Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata inhabits open or shrub- 
covered arid plains from the Canary Islands and North Africa east- 
wards through the Middle East and the former Soviet Union (Cramp 
& Simmons 1983, Dement'ev & Gladkov 1951, Johnsgard 1991). Its sta- 
tus has always been the subject of controversy, largely due to the 
extreme difficulties of counting birds in their natural environment. 
Nevertheless, it appears that Central Asia may retain the largest 
breeding population of Houbaras (of the subspecies macqueenii) . The 
species' stronghold possibly lies in the Kyzyl Kum region of 
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and the northern Kara Kum region of 
Turkmenistan. The vast expanse of the Kyzyl Kum desert is one of the 
least exploited pastoral regions of the former Soviet Union and covers 
at least 250,000km' (Johnsgard 1991). 
The most basic biological needs of this species are unknown e.g. its 
social and sexual behaviour, habitat requirements and interactions 
with other species. Whilst efforts are being made to breed Houbaras in 
captivity (in Fuerteventura, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the United Arab 
Emirates and Uzbekistan) very little field research on the species' 
behaviour has been attempted and its social structure and sexual sys- 
tem remains largely unknown. Previous studies on birds in a semi- 
natural environment have provided valuable information on the for- 
mer, but until now these have failed to demonstrate the breeding sys- 
tem of the Houbara Bustard (Launay 1989). 
A pilot study of the species' social and sexual system was undertaken 
in the Uch Kuduk region of Uzbekistan (40°35'N, 63°49'E) between 
April and June 1994. Birds breed annually in this area; arriving over a 
ten day period at the end of February with the males commencing dis- 
play soon after arrival. The bird density varied between 0.5 and 0.6 
birds per km-. Map 1 illustrates the relative position of displaying 
males, males, females, groups of birds and nests. Six displaying males 
were observed on the study site. These males displayed daily, always 
at the same location. The distance between two displaying males 
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