Anecdotal reports on the status of 
Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis 
undulata macqueenii in Syria 
D A Roshier 
Introduction 
Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata, of the race macqueenii is a long 
distance migrant over much of its range. It breeds in the former Soviet 
Union, migrating to Pakistan, India and the Middle East in winter 
(Cramp and Simmons 1983). Small resident and/or nomadic popula- 
tions also exist in the Middle East: in Israel, Jordan, Oman, Saudi 
Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Very little information 
has been published on the status of any of these latter populations and 
the reasons for their decline. The marked reduction in numbers 
throughout its range has been attributed to excessive hunting (Cramp 
and Simmons 1983). During a recent trip to Syria I was able to talk to 
sheep herders and bedu about the occurrence of Houbara in their area. 
They were also asked why they thought Houbara numbers had 
declined. 
Collar (1980) records that Houbara occurred in Syria "throughout the 
Aleppo /Esiye/Raqqah area.. .in spring 1943." Kumerloeve (1968) stat- 
ed that the species occurred east of Dayr-Az-Zor. A dramatic decline 
has become noticeable in the last fifty years (Baumgart, Kasparek & 
Stephan 1995). The last documented sighting of a Houbara in Syria 
was by MacFarlane (1978) in May 1976 at Khan Abu Shamat. 
However the Houbara is thought to survive in a small number of 
areas; all present and past localities are documented in Evans (1994). I 
travelled north-east from Aleppo through marginal cropping country 
to Manbij, then east across the Euphrates River to the steppe of north- 
em Syria, thence south to Rassafah via Al-Raqqah (Raqqah) before 
returning to Aleppo, a total distance of approximately 500 km. 
The species is known among locals as "houbari", as opposed to 
"hubrum", which is the name accorded to Great Bustard Otis tarda 
which arrives in northern Syria each spring from Turkey. Despite the 
comment by Collar et al (1994) that the Great Bustard was "probably 
extinct" in Syria it is apparently still quite common in this region. 
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