Odd kori bustard behavior (1 Viewer)

My wife and I were watching a displaying male kori bustard in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. The bird walked over close to our car, stopped displaying, and sank down into the grass so that it was barely visible (see photo). There were no predators in evidence. The bird stayed there for more than 15 minutes, and we finally left.

I’ve never seen this behavior described anywhere. Can anyone shed any light on what was going on? Thanks!

Are you sure it wasn't on a nest?

Perhaps it was simply resting, many birds have a bit of a siesta in the middle of the day when they've been active, feeding all day.



A

Thanks, Andy. It's certainly possible the bird was on a nest, although it didn't look down when it was settling into the grass. Any nest would have been hidden from us by the tall grass. And it's also possible the bird was just resting, though it seemed odd it would approach us so closely first.