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.
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 The great bustard is a beloved but endangered bird found in Spain and other locations scattered across Eurasia. Sarah Stanley, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2011 The researchers collected flowering plants of these two species growing at one of the largest great bustard breeding grounds in central Spain, near Valdetorres del Jarama. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Nov. 2022

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

Dictionary Entries Near bustard

Cite this Entry

“Bustard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bustard. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on bustard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!