In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the Arabian bustard in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds.

The record-sized male Arabian bustard weighed 16.8 kg (37 lb) this makes it rank among the heaviest flying birds on the planet in terms of maximum mass.

[8][9] They are fairly similar in overall appearance to the kori bustard, with a brown body, gray neck and white underside, but are noticeably smaller, with a more elegant, slender build.

[11] It is found in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

When the brood is threatened, the females has been observed to demonstrate diversionary behaviour, e.g. calling, refusing to flee, to distract potential predators from chicks.

They have also been recorded feeding on the seeds and fruits of shrubs, such as Cordia sinensis, Grewia villosa, Salvadora persica and wild melon Citrullus as well as "Acacia" gum.