Kori bustard (Ardeotis kori)

Description

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?

Kori bustard fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Kori bustard description

Along with condors, swans and turkeys, the kori bustard is one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, as well as being the largest of all bustards ^{(2) (4) (5)}. Imposing in stature, it has a bulky body, a long, thick neck, and long, yellow legs ^{(4) (6)}. The face and neck are predominately grey, but a distinctive black crest runs back from the crown. Aside from a black patch at the base of the neck, and black and white speckling around the shoulders, the upperparts are mostly brown, whilst the underparts are white ⁽⁴⁾. Although the female has a very similar plumage to the male, it is conspicuously smaller in size ^{(7) (8)}. Two geographically separated subspecies are recognised: Ardeotis kori kori and A. k. struthiunculus ⁽⁵⁾.

French

Outarde kori.

Size

Length: 1.2 m ⁽²⁾

Weight

11 - 19 kg ⁽²⁾

Kori bustard biology

Being primarily a terrestrial bird, the kori bustard is reluctant to fly unless in serious danger ^{(2) (4) (8)}. Like other bustards, it forages on foot, taking a wide variety of food items including grasshoppers, dung beetles, small reptiles, rodents, seeds, roots and wild melons ^{(4) (6)}. Often it will follow herding animals, feeding on insects disturbed by the herd’s movements, and will also be quick to inhabit recently burnt areas, where it feeds on new grass shoots and exposed animals ^{(2) (4)}.

During courtship, the male kori bustard struts about with its crest raised, its neck inflated, and its tail feathers cocked ^{(4) (7) (9)}. In addition, on approaching an individual female, the male will sometimes bow low, whilst emitting a low-pitched booming sound. Being a polygamous breeder, the male resumes its courtship display following copulation, having nothing more to do with egg incubation or parental care ⁽⁹⁾. The female incubates one to two eggs in a shallow scrape in the ground for 23 to 24 days before hatching ^{(4) (9)}. The chicks remain with their mother well after fledging, and only reach sexual maturity after at least two years ⁽⁹⁾.

Kori bustard range

Ardeotis kori kori has a southern African distribution, occurring in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, southern Angola, South Africa and Mozambique, while A. k. struthiunculus has an east African distribution, from southern Ethiopia through Kenya into northern Tanzania ^{(4) (5)}.

Kori bustard habitat

The kori bustard is a bird of open grasslands, bushveld and semi-deserts ^{(4) (7) (8)}.

Kori bustard status

Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾ and listed on Appendix II of CITES ⁽³⁾.

Kori bustard threats

Owing to hunting, habitat loss, and a low tolerance for human activity, the kori bustard has been eliminated from many unprotected areas across its range ^{(4) (5) (8) (9)}. Nonetheless, because it has such a large range and its rate of decline is thought to be relatively slow, the kori bustard is not currently listed in a threatened category on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.

Kori bustard conservation

Fortunately, the Kori bustard occurs in relatively large numbers within several well-managed protected areas across its range, including Etosha National Park in Namibia and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania ⁽⁴⁾. Zoos around the world are also studying this species in order to learn how best to conserve them in the wild ^{(5) (9)}. Furthermore, in the United States, several zoos are involved in a breeding program which aims to maintain self-sustaining populations so as to avoid further imports from the wild ⁽⁹⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Find out more

To find out more about the kori bustard, see:

• Smithsonian National Zoological Park – Kori Bustard Factsheet:
  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Facts/FactSheets/fact-koribustard.cfm

For more information on this and other bird species please see:

• BirdLife International:
  http://www.birdlife.org

Authentication

Glossary

Incubation

The act of incubating eggs, that is, keeping them warm so that development is possible.

Polygamous

Mating with more than one partner in the same season.

References

1. IUCN Red List (August, 2009)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. Burnie, D. (2001) Animal. Dorling Kindersley, London.
3. CITES (August, 2009)
   http://www.cites.org
4. Alden, P.C., Estes, R.D., Schlitter, D. and McBride, B. (1996) Collins Guide to African Wildlife. HarperCollins Publishers, London.
5. Lichtenberg, E.M. and Hallager, S. (2008) A description of commonly observed behaviors for the kori bustard (Ardeotis kori). Journal of Ethology, 26: 17 - 34.
6. Newman, K. (2004) What's That Bird? A Starter's Guide to Birds of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
7. Sinclair, I. and Davidson, I. (2006) Southern African Birds: A Photographic Guide. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
8. Sinclair, I. (1994) Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
9. Smithsonian National Zoological Park (September, 2009)
   http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Facts/FactSheets/fact-koribustard.cfm