| Sumario: | Over the last two decades, monitoring of and research into the little bustard was carried out mainly in western Europe, and has enabled the identification of important threats to the species. Detailed information on the eastern populations’ breeding and wintering grounds is, however, still scarce. Within the western range of the species, the European Common Agricultural Policy has contributed to the loss and degradation of key habitats for little bustards. Agricultural intensification is not only a significant threat to breeding areas, but also a major concern regarding food availability and vegetation cover in post-breeding habitats. Habitat suitability is further diminished by climate change, particularly in summer within the Mediterranean basin, as birds are exposed to increasingly dry weather and rising temperatures. Collision with powerlines is a major source of non-natural mortality, as is illegal killing in Iberia. Energy developments are likely to increase in the near future, namely wind farms and particularly solar farms, which will lead to further habitat loss and collisions with associated powerlines. The eastern range now holds most of the world’s little bustard population, but hunting and poaching in eastern wintering grounds may be threatening the population, as there is evidence of significant disturbance and persecution, but detailed quantification of this is lacking. Direct and indirect effects of hunting in the western range seem important enough also to deserve further attention.
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