Feartured specie Diet Kori Bustards are omnivores, although they tend to be more carnivorous than other species of bustards. Insects form a large portion of their diet, especially as chicks. Adults also eat a variety of small mammals, lizards, snakes, seeds and berries of plants. Kori Bustards are reported to eat the gum from the Acacia tree and this is where the Afrikaans name “Gompou” derives from. It is not clear if they are after the gum itself or the insects stuck to it. Kori Bustards are one of a few bird species that drink water using a sucking motion rather than scooping it up as commonly found with other birds. Reproduction Males often gather in formations on hilltops to display for females. During the height of display, the esophagus in the neck of the male can be inflated to as much as four times its normal size. The wings are dropped down as low as possible and the tail feathers are cocked so as to reveal the white underfeathers. During courtship, the male will bow toward the female with his neck inflated and bill snapping. He may also emit a low-pitched booming sound. Copulation lasts for a few seconds, and once over, will he leave to resume his display to attract other females. He plays no part in incubation or in the rearing of chicks. Like all bustards one or two eggs are laid in a shallow scrape made by the females. The eggs are pale olive in color with blotches of brown with an incubation period of 23-24 days. The chicks are able to follow their mother around shortly after hatching. They remain with her well after the five week fledging period and reach sexual maturity after two years. Photo: Arnstein Rønning
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Vol 7 2012
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