Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores - Kori Bustard

Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores
Kori Bustard
Page 15

Ardeotis kori

Length: 135 cm (4 feet 6 inches)

Status: Common

Habitat: Kori bustards are found at altitudes up to 2 000 meters (6,560 feet) in open grasslands, savanna and semi-deserts.

Food: Kori bustards eat grasshoppers, small reptiles, rodents, dung beetles and other invertebrates that they turn up as they walk through the grass. They will also eat seeds, roots and wild melons. Kori bustards will walk along the edge of grass fires and eat the "toasted" victims of the flames.

Social System/Behavior: There are several species of bustard found in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. They are Jackson’s bustard, white-bellied bustard, black-bellied bustard and the kori bustard. The kori is the largest of these. Bustards are closely related to cranes. Worldwide there are 22 species, 18 of which make their homes in Africa.

All bustards are strictly monogamous and are usually seen in pairs. They are an ancient family whose fossil record extends back 50 million years.

Bustards never perch on trees or stand on one leg.

Kori bustards spend most of the day wandering the plains, picking up food. They seldom fly but can do so with ease if danger threatens. This bird is one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, weighing 7 to 10 kilograms (15 to 22 pounds), with a wing span of 76 centimeters (30 inches).

During the mating season, the cock bustard puts on a spectacular performance. His neck swells to four times its normal size, his body is stiff with wings down and tail up. He makes a dull sounding "wumm-wumm-wumm" lion-like call to alert the female to his intentions.

After mating, the hen lays one to two eggs in a shallow depression in the ground. The young are speckled and precocial. They follow their parents soon after hatching.

Predators: Predators are few and far between as far as adult birds are concerned, although lions and spotted hyenas probably take a few. Young birds and eggs are more vulnerable to predation by small carnivores as well as snakes and monitor lizards.

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