Kori Bustard [Ardeotis kori]
The Kori Bustard is a rather large bird and is the heaviest flying bird in Africa. The Kori has long, thin and bony legs with long feet that ends with three ‘fingers’. The Kori has a predominantly white body, with the neck, thighs and underside white in colour while the lower legs and top is a dark brown colour. They have a black stripe that stretches behind their eyes, looking like a bad eyeliner job. The Kori has a black tuft that lays over backwards. The Kori weighs an astounding 19kg.
The Kori Bustard is an omnivorous bird that feeds on plant life like berries and meat, like lizards, small birds and snakes. The young feed on a diet of insects and slowly learn to eat different types of food as they grow older. The se birds have been known to feed on gum from acacia trees, though it is not known if they directly feed on the gum, or the insects that consume the gum. The Kori drinks water very differently in comparison to other birds. The Kori drinks using a sucking action, instead of a normal scooping method other birds use.
Kori Bustards are Polygynous birds. The male will perform a mating dance by inflating its neck and trailing its wings. Other forms of the mating dance include the male ruffling up its feathers so it appears as a big white ball, bowing in front of the female while inflating its bill and even making loud booming sounds. Reproducing occurs once a year, the male takes no responsibility in raising the young, The female rarely leaves the nest, only when she needs to feed. Females barely do any effort in making nests, when they don’t make a nest, they lay their eggs on the ground.
The Kori Bustard is a ground dwelling bird, hence the name Bustard, which means to walk. Because of their very heavy nature and build, Kori’s rarely fly and only when necessary. Because of their infrequency with flying, they have been categorized under the flightless bird category among the Ostrich and emu. The Kori has a long-life span and breeds slowly and are known to stay in the same areas where food is good.
The Kori Bustard prefers open woodland areas as well as lightly wooded savannah. The Kori is found in savannah locations where the trees are scattered and are fond of grass lands with beautiful scenery. They can be found in Southern Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Ethiopia and Namibia.