NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Asian Houbara
Chlamydotis macqueenii (J. E. Gray, 1832)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Macqueen's Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii in Greater Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India
Kannan AS · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Asian houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii), also known as MacQueen's bustard, is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, east from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Iran and further north toward Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrants were found as far west of their range as Great Britain. Populations have decreased by 20–50% between 1984 and 2004 mainly due to hunting and changes in land-use. The Asian houbara is a partial latitudinal migrant while the African houbara (C. undulata) is more sedentary. These two species are the only members of the genus Chlamydotis. The Asian houbara used to be regarded as a subspecies of the African houbara.
Wikipedia contributors, Asian houbara; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:11:51.449609+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chlamydotis macqueenii (J. E. Gray, 1832)
- Name authority
- (J. E. Gray, 1832)
- Common name
- Asian Houbara
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Otidiformes
- Family
- Otididae
- Genus
- Chlamydotis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderOtidiformes
- familyOtididae
- genusChlamydotis R. Lesson, 1839
- speciesChlamydotis macqueenii (J. E. Gray, 1832)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Otis macqueenii J. E. Gray, 1832 J. E. Gray, 1832 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=707797 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:69WT7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.