Image: from World birds X @worldbirds32
By Open Chronicle with Agencies
LISBON, Portugal, June 26, 2026 — Portugal’s population of the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax), one of Europe’s most iconic steppe birds, has declined by approximately 90 percent over the past two decades, raising fears that the species could disappear from the country without urgent conservation measures.
The alarming findings come from the Fourth National Little Bustard Census, which estimates that only 1,736 males remain in Portugal. Twenty years ago, researchers counted around 17,000 individuals, already considering the species vulnerable.
Environmental organizations, scientists, and conservationists are now calling for immediate government action to prevent the bird’s extinction.
A dramatic decline
“The results of this census are alarming, but unfortunately, they are not unexpected,” said Julieta Costa of SPEA BirdLife Portugal.
“We are witnessing the disappearance of the Little Bustard before our eyes. Given this evidence, it is incomprehensible that the Portuguese state continues to fail to implement effective conservation measures, despite its obligations under the European Union Birds Directive.”
The Little Bustard was once a familiar sight across the open plains of Portugal’s Alentejo region, where it depends on extensive farmland and natural grasslands for nesting and breeding.
Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) #painting #art pic.twitter.com/LgsEG2LQSa
— World birds (@worldbirds32) July 1, 2018
Agriculture is identified as the main threat
Researchers say the rapid transformation of traditional agricultural landscapes has severely reduced suitable habitat.
The expansion of permanent crops such as olive groves and almond plantations, increased livestock grazing, fewer fallow fields, and the widespread decline of cereal cultivation have all contributed to the degradation of breeding areas.
The same pressures are also affecting other steppe birds, including the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) and the Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus), both of which have experienced significant population declines.
Conservation groups demand emergency action
Seven Portuguese environmental organizations, SPEA BirdLife Portugal, LPN (League for Nature Protection), WWF Portugal, Palombar, FAPAS, GEOTA, and ZERO, have jointly appealed for an emergency national conservation plan.
They warn that rural infrastructure, particularly power lines, continues to increase bird mortality, while habitat destruction accelerates.
“The threats facing the Little Bustard and other steppe birds are not only continuing but have become more diverse and more intense in recent years,” said Estrela Matilde of LPN.
The species is now critically endangered
The census, coordinated by BIOPOLIS/CIBIO, confirms that the species continues to decline even inside Special Protection Areas established specifically to safeguard vulnerable bird populations.
“Every national census since 2006 has shown a worsening situation,” said João Paulo Silva of BIOPOLIS/CIBIO.
“In 2022, the species was already classified as Critically Endangered because it faced extinction risk. Four years later, the downward trend continues.”
Loss of cereal farming adds to the crisis
Researchers also point to the collapse of Portugal’s cereal-growing sector as a major factor behind the species’ decline.
Approximately 80 percent of Portugal’s cereal cultivation area has disappeared since the late 1980s, reducing suitable habitat while increasing the country’s dependence on imported food.
“The farmers who continue producing cereals are themselves an ageing population,” noted Joaquim Teodósio, from the LIFE SOS Pygargus conservation project.
Proposed emergency measures
The organizations are urging the Portuguese government to establish an interministerial emergency plan involving environmental groups, farmers, and universities.
Recommended actions include protecting breeding habitats, encouraging cereal cultivation and fallow land management, strengthening agri-environmental support schemes, improving the planning of energy infrastructure, restricting irrigation expansion in critical habitats, and developing ex-situ conservation programs.
Conservationists warn that without swift and coordinated action, Portugal could lose one of its most emblematic grassland bird species within the coming years.
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