 The year was 1963, when the national bird of India was chosen and announced to the public. It was none other than the peacock, but the bird which lost to peacock in the final race was Great Indian Busted. Do you know the present condition of this amazing bird? To know about it, watch this video fully. See, the Great Indian Busted is one of the heaviest flying birds. These birds are endemic to the Indian subcontinent. They are primarily terrestrial birds. Generally, the males are taller and heavier than female birds. Also note that it is one of the rarest birds in the world. Most of the population are located in India. Very few birds are in Pakistan. In India, the largest number of around 150 is found in Thar desert in Rajasthan, which nearly accounts for 95% of the global Great Indian Busted population. Few birds are also sighted in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Now coming to the habitat of the birds. This species usually inhabitates open habitats like in short grasslands, open shrub and rain-fed agriculture fields. See, the Great Indian Busted is a crucial indicator when it comes to grassland ecosystems. Now let's see about their breeding pattern. Great Indian Busted breed in selected grasslands during the mating periods. The male display themselves to attract females. See, the males have a gullar pouch. When they wish to attract females, they inflate the pouch. It helps them to produce a resonant, booming mating call to attract females. The sound of the mating call can be heard up to a distance of 500 meters. An image of the Great Indian Busted with its inflated gullar pouch is given below for your reference. See, how elegant the bird looks. This is all about the breeding pattern. Now coming to the reasons for the declining number of Great Indian Busted. First reason is the habitat loss. Then comes the poaching of the birds. Yeah, Great Indian Busted are susceptible to poaching. After that, there is a predation of nests by foxes and feral dogs. Then finally comes the issue of powerline collisions. See, these birds are prone to collision with powerlines. This is because of their poor frontal vision and their inability to see powerlines from a distance. Due to their larger size, it becomes difficult for them to maneuver or to shift trajectory quickly after seeing the powerlines. Many a time there is a huge impact with these lines and even if there is no electrocution, the birds die because of the impact of collision. Sometimes they die also because of electrocution. The habitats of Great Indian Busted have a high density of transmission lines because of the potential for renewable energy production in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Finally, before ending our discussion, let's see a few facts about this bird. The species is known for its very slow reproductive rate. It lays only one egg for one or two years and the success rate of these eggs under ideal condition itself is around only 60-70% because of such very low reproductive rate and specific habitat requirements, the species is found to be highly vulnerable. If you can remember, in August this year, there was a news in the Hindu newspaper about Great Indian Busted. The news was about captive breeding program in the desert national park. Since it was a rare occurrence, it was reported in the newspaper. Now finally, let's see about the conservation status. Great Indian Busted is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. In India, it is placed under the Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and finally it is placed in the Appendix I of Sites. This is all with respect to Great Indian Busted. Through this discussion, we have seen about the Great Indian Busted, its habitat and why the population of Great Indian Busted is not increasing. To know more about animals which are facing habitat loss, kindly subscribe to Shankarai's Academy's YouTube channel.