• Historically, the great Indian bustard was distributed throughout Western India, spanning 11 states, as well as parts of Pakistan. Its stronghold was once the Thar desert in the north-west and the Deccan plateau of the peninsula. Today, its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Small population occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Bustards generally favour flat open landscapes with minimal visual obstruction and disturbance, therefore adapt well in grasslands. In the non-breeding season they frequent wide agro-grass scrub landscapes.
• While in the breeding season (summers and monsoons) they congregate in traditional undisturbed grassland patches characterized by a mosaic of scantily grazed tall grass (below 50 cm). They avoid grasses taller than themselves and dense scrub like thickets.
• Bustards, which are one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, worldwide easily fall victim to power lines because of their relatively low flight paths and poor frontal vision

Status

• Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972, in the CMS Convention and in Appendix I of CITES, as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016).
• It has also been identified as one of the species for the recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

Quick-Read:

• Lala Bustard Sanctuary in Kutch, Gujarat. 
• Kutch is one of India’s largest national parks, a mosaic of sand dunes, rocks, grasslands and agricultural fields.
• The Desert National Park, carved out of Thar desert.
• Another bustard species threatened by wind power is the lesser florican, a striking bird known for its elaborate courtship ritual. The florican is known to tirelessly repeat the yo-yo routine 500 times a day to woo a mate. This bird, endemic to the sub-continent, is on a rapid decline.
• Bhimashankar sanctuary in Maharashtra, habitat of leopards, pangolins and the Indian giant squirrel.

Source:TH. Wiki, WWF India