Range

Africa is the native home of the kori bustard and there are two separate populations one in the south and one in the north near the horn of Africa.

Here they can be found throughout Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Habitat

They make their home in forests, savannas, shrublands, grasslands and deserts. Kori bustards may also move in to human modified areas such as wheat fields.

Reproduction

Breeding season is varied between the two populations. Typically it takes place from September to February in the southern population and December to August in the northern population.

Males will mate with multiple females throughout a single season and are not involved with raising young. To attract mates they perform an elaborate courtship display. During this they inflate the esophagus to make their neck appear larger and spread out their feathers. They also make a loud booming noise. Groups of males form called a lek where they can perform for a female will select one to mate with.

Mating lasts only a few seconds.

Females make a shallow scrape in the ground which serves as their nest. In to this they will lay one to two eggs. These eggs are pale olive with brown spots.

The female will incubate the eggs on her own for 23 days. Most of the time she remains with the eggs and will only leave to feed. The female will care for the chicks and they fledge at 4-5 weeks old. Often they remain with their mother till the next breeding season.

Younger animals primarily feed upon insects.

Sexual maturity is achieved by 3 years old.

In times of drought there is significantly less breeding success.

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Behavior

While they are capable of flight the kori bustard will spend most of its time on the ground. This is due to their weight.

They remain in a single area unless food becomes scarce at which point they may complete a short migration.

In addition to the booming call of a displaying male they will also make a bark and a cooing sound.

Kori bustards form a symbiotic relationship with carmine bee-eaters. The bee-eaters ride on the back of the bustard and eat insects which fly up when the bustards walk. In turn the bee-eater can spot predators and warn the bustard of their presence.

They lack the gland that produces an oily secretion which most birds have to assist with preening. To combat this they will dust bathe. They still preen and this works to remove old feathers and parasites along with keeping the feathers in order.

Predators and Threats

In their natural habitat the kori bustard faces many predators including African lions, leopards, caracals, black-backed jackals and eagles.

When threatened by a predator they will often attempt to flee on foot only flying if they cannot escape on foot.

Humans hunt the kori bustard for food and to use their feathers for the production of fly-fishing lures. They also destroy their habitat.

Due to the demand for their feathers for use in fishing lures zoos in America gather their feathers and provide them to fishers for free. This devalues the feathers and makes hunting the birds unattractive to local people. Prior to this program a single feather may have been worth as much as $500. This could make a single bird worth as much as $10,000.

You can learn more about this program here – https://feathersmc.com/kori-bustard-program/

Another major threat to the kori bustard is collisions with high voltage power lines while flying.

Quick facts

In the Afrikaans language they are known as the ‘gompou’ or gum eating bird.