Bengal Florican

The Bengal florican, or Bengal bustard, is the only member of its genus. The male has black plumage from head and neck to underparts, a long lanky crest and elongated display plumes on the neck. The upperside is buff with fine black vermiculations and black arrowheads, with a conspicuous large white patch from the wing coverts to the flight feathers. Females are larger than males, and young birds can be mistaken for female lesser floricans. It is 66–68 cm long, and the female weighs 1.7–1.9 kg against 1.2–1.5 kg for the male (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia and Vietnam, and in India occurs from Uttar Pradesh through the Terai of Nepal to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, historically also in Bangladesh; the Terai population seems to move to warmer lowland locations in winter. It is normally silent but gives a metallic chik-chik-chik when disturbed. SoIB 2023 rates it a High conservation priority, with a Very Restricted range of about 6,200 km² (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).