Kori bustard
Ardeotis kori
— Where the name comes from
Ardeotis joins the Latin ardea, “heron”, and the Greek ōtís, “bustard”: a bustard with a neck as long as a heron’s. Kori comes from the name the Tswana people of southern Africa give it.
— Facts
- Group
- Birds · Aves
- Order
- Bustards
- Habitat
- Open grassy savannah, semi-arid grassland
- Range
- East Africa and southern Africa
- Size
- Male 120–150 cm and 11–19 kg; female 5–7 kg
- Diet
- Insects, small vertebrates, seeds, acacia gum
- Lifespan
- Over 25 years in captivity
— Characteristics
- 01
The male may be the heaviest bird capable of flight.
- 02
In display it puffs out its neck, raises its tail and gives a deep boom.
- 03
It flies little and reluctantly: it prefers to walk.
— What sets it apart
It carries passengers. Carmine bee-eaters, bright red African birds, perch on its back and ride along through the grass: as the bustard walks it flushes grasshoppers and other insects, and the bee-eaters dart off to catch them in flight before returning to the saddle. The male lives at the physical limit of flight: above twenty kilos or so the muscles can no longer lift the body, and the biggest take off only after a long run.
