The presence of an extremely rare bird – the Houbara bustard – in Israel has increased by 10 percent in comparison to last year.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority counted 192 individuals on Friday in the Hatzerim area, west of Beersheba.
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| Photo: Assaf Moroz |
One of the largest, rarest and most impressive birds in Israel, the Houbara bustard tends to prefer a desert environment and many of its behaviors are still not completely known, the INPA said.
In 2001, there were only about 500 Houbaras in the country, nesting predominantly in the Negev and the Arava. Over the past decade their population decreased by 20 percent and therefore became critically endangered, the authority said.
“The Houbara serves us as a kind of indicator for loss of soil and desert shrubbery and is of course a flag-bearer for preserving these habitats,” the INPA said.
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