bustard

noun

bus·​tard ˈbə-stərd How to pronounce bustard (audio)
: any of a family (Otididae) of large chiefly terrestrial Old World and Australian game birds

Examples of bustard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
From 2005 to 2022, researchers uncovered 150 bird remains belonging to at least 14 species, including some belonging to great bustards, according to the study. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025 Still, there has been some debate among biologists about how long great bustards had lived in north Africa. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2025 Zhou Jinfeng - China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, China Scientist protecting the population of great bustards, Zhou established a conservation area to protect the great bustard based on its migration and residence conditions. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Sep. 2024 Kori bustards are the largest flying birds, according to the United Kingdom's Natural History Museum. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024 These reptiles were bigger than bustards, bigger than albatrosses, and in 1975 paleontologist Douglas Lawson described what may be the largest flying animal of all time—Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur that stood as tall as a giraffe on the ground and had a wingspan 36 feet across. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Sep. 2023 As any worthwhile polygamous male bustard should!Males of a strongly polygynous species consume more poisonous food than females. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2014 The duo worked with the Houbara bustard, a large bird that has been hunted extensively because its meat is prized as an aphrodisiac. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 8 June 2010 This plausibly explains the intense cloaca display males perform to approaching females, and the meticulous inspection females conduct of the male's cloaca, a behaviour only observed in this and another similar species of the bustard family. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2014

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, modification of Middle French bistarde, from Old Italian bistarda, from Latin avis tarda, literally, slow bird

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bustard was in the 15th century

Cite this Entry

“Bustard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bustard. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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