Kori Bustard
Encyclopedia
The Kori Bustard is a large bird
native to Africa
. It is a member of the bustard
family
. It may be the heaviest bird capable of flight.
The Kori Bustard is mostly grey in color, with a black crest on its head and yellow legs. Kori Bustards are often found with bee-eater
s riding on their backs as they stride through the grass. The bee-eaters make the most of their walking perch by hawking insect
s from the bustard's back that are disturbed by the bustard's wandering.
This is a large and heavy bird, and it avoids flying if possible. It spends most of its time on the ground, foraging for the seeds and lizard
s which make up most of its diet.
The male Kori Bustard is 120 to 150 cm (3.9 to 4.9 ft), stands 71 – tall and have a wingspan about 230 to 275 cm (7.5 to 9 ft). On average male birds weigh about 10.9–16 kg (24–35.3 lb), but exceptional birds may weigh up to 20 kg (44.1 lb). Reports of outsized specimens weighing 23 kg (50.7 lb), 34 kg (75 lb) and even 40 kg (88.2 lb) have been reported, but none of these giants have been verified and are not considered reliable. The female Kori Bustard weighs an average of 4.8 to 6.1 kg (10.6 to 13.4 lb), with a range of 4.3 to 6.6 kg (9.5 to 14.6 lb). Female length is from 80 to 120 cm (2.6 to 3.9 ft) and they usually stand less than 60 cm (2 ft) tall and have a wingspan of less than 220 cm (7.2 ft). Body size is generally greater in the populations of southern Africa and body mass can vary based upon rain conditions.
Like all bustards, Kori Bustards have polygynous breeding habits, where one male displays to attract several females and mates with them all. He then leaves the females to care for the young by themselves. The females build a nest on the ground and incubate the eggs, foregoing eating for days. When the chicks hatch, the mother brings them a steady stream of food, most of it soft so the chicks can eat it easily.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
native to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is a member of the bustard
Bustard
Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It may be the heaviest bird capable of flight.
The Kori Bustard is mostly grey in color, with a black crest on its head and yellow legs. Kori Bustards are often found with bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s riding on their backs as they stride through the grass. The bee-eaters make the most of their walking perch by hawking insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s from the bustard's back that are disturbed by the bustard's wandering.
This is a large and heavy bird, and it avoids flying if possible. It spends most of its time on the ground, foraging for the seeds and lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s which make up most of its diet.
Like all bustards, Kori Bustards have polygynous breeding habits, where one male displays to attract several females and mates with them all. He then leaves the females to care for the young by themselves. The females build a nest on the ground and incubate the eggs, foregoing eating for days. When the chicks hatch, the mother brings them a steady stream of food, most of it soft so the chicks can eat it easily.
See also
- Andean CondorAndean CondorThe Andean Condor is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur...
- the biggest flying bird alive today - Sarus CraneSarus CraneThe Sarus Crane is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m , they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetlands...
- the tallest flying bird alive today - Wandering AlbatrossWandering AlbatrossThe Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross or White-winged Albatross, Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan...
- the largest wingspan among living birds - ArgentavisArgentavisArgentavis magnificens is the largest flying bird ever discovered. This bird, sometimes called the Giant Teratorn, is an extinct species known from three sites from the late Miocene of central and northwestern Argentina, where a good sample of fossils has been obtained.The humerus of...
- the biggest flying bird ever to live - Bee HummingbirdBee HummingbirdThe Bee Hummingbird or Zunzuncito is a species of hummingbird that is endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud...
- smallest bird
External links
- Kori Bustard videos, photos & sounds, The Internet Bird Collection
- http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/NewsEvents/kobu.cfm, Smithsonian National Zoological Park Kori Bustard News
- http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Facts/FactSheets/fact-koribustard.cfm, Smithsonian National Zoological Park Kori Bustard factsheet
- http://www.koribustardssp.org Kori Bustard Species Survival Plan website