Jerdon’s Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus is a nocturnally active cursorial bird that is only known to occur in a small area of scrub jungle in and around Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh, India, and is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Jerdon’s Courser prefers a specific type of scrub jungle with open areas, and there is considerable pressure from human use of apparently suitable habitats. Although major threats to the survival of the Jerdon’s Courser have been indentified (Birdlife International 2001), there is no quantitative information available. During our study, nine specific threats were identified to the survival of the Jerdon’s Courser and its habitat. Habitat destruction and alteration is the major threat among them. However, the immediate threat for the only known population of the Jerdon’s Courser in the world and its habitat is the construction of the Telugu-Ganga Canal near Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary and Sri Penusula Narasimha Wildlife Sanctuary. The presence of the Jerdon’s Courser was detected in three new locations in and around the Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, and one of these sites was destroyed due to the canal construction. There is an urgent need to save the scrub jungle habitat in and around the sanctuaries. We suggest several ameliorative measures for the conservation of the Jerdon’s Courser and its habitat.