northern India. It is known in some other parts as Gaganbher or Gurayin for the resemblance of other calls to thunder or the roar of a tiger. When the "national bird" of India was under consideration, the great Indian bustard was a proposed candidate (strongly supported by the Indian ornithologist Salim Ali), but dropped in favour of the Indian peafowl with at least one reason being the potential for being misspelt. References Other sources Bhushan, B. (1985) The food and feeding behaviour of the Great Indian Bustard Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors). Class Aves: Otididae. M.Sc. dissertation. University of Bombay, Bombay. Dharmakumarsinhji RS (1957) Ecological study of the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps( Vigors)[ Aves : Otididae] in Kathiawar Peninsula, western India. J. Zool. Soc. India 9:139-52. Dharmakumarsinhji, RS (1962) Display, posturing and behaviour of the Great Indian Bustard Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors). Proc. 2nd All-India Congress. Zoology. Part 2:277-283 External links Videos and photographs Arkive - images and movies BirdLife Species Factsheet great Indian bustard Birds of India Birds of Pakistan Critically endangered fauna of Asia great Indian bustard Symbols of Rajasthan Fauna of the Thar Desert