From Opus

Alternative name: Buff-crested Bustard¹; Bush Bustard; Red-crested Korhaan

Eupodotis ruficrista

Male; Photo by CollinBax
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Female; Photo by David_H_UK
Kruger National Park, South Africa

[edit] Identification

Length 50 cm, mass 300-910 g; average mass of males (682 g) slightly higher than that of females (667 g).

Adult male: The crown is grey and the crest (which is concealed unless displaying) is rufous. Upper parts are brown; feathers have black centres and white chevron marks. The foreneck is grey. The underparts are black except for white patches on each side of the upper breast. The eyes are pale, the bill dark horn and the legs and feet are off-white to grey-green.

Adult female: Similar to the male, but the crown is brown with white flecks, and the neck and upper breast are buff with black flecks, grading to a broad white breast band.

Similar species: The female White-quilled Bustard (Northern Black Korhaan) lacks the white chevrons on the upperparts and has less black on the belly. The Black-bellied Bustard also lacks the white chevrons on the upperparts; the male has a balck stripe down the foreneck and the female has a white belly.

[edit] Distribution

Southern Angola to northeastern Namibia, Botswana, southern Zambia, eastern Swaziland, southern Mozambique, and northern South Africa

[edit] Taxonomy

A monotypic species. Some authorities recognize three subspecies: ruficrista, ochrofascies, sayilei.³

[edit] Lophotis vs. Eupodotis

Some authorities (Howard & Moore, 2003) place Savile's Bustard (savilei), Buff-crested Bustard (gindiana), and Red-crested Bustard (ruficrista) in the genus Lophotis. However, Clements (2007) and Sibley & Monroe (1996) place these three taxa in Eupodotis, and the Opus follows.

[edit] Habitat

Semi-arid woodlands, extending into sparsely wooded grassland in the southern Kalahari.

[edit] Behaviour

Solitary; inconspicuous unless calling or displaying. Forages for invertebrates, seeds, fruits and gum while walking.

Breeding: Polygynous. The mating display of the male is spectacular; it flies up to a height of 10-30 m, throws its feet up, and drops to the ground like a stone. Females are probably not territorial, but nest alone. The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground. One to two eggs are laid September to April, peaking earlier in the east. Only the females incubate and care for the young.

[edit] References

1. Not to be confused with Buff-crested Bustard, Eupodotis gindiana.
2. Hockey P.A.R., W.R.J. Dean & P.G. Ryan (eds.). 2005. Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 0620340533
3. Citation needed for supposed subspecies

[edit] External Links