Tanzania - 2020 - Part 12 - Featuring Kori Bustard

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Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori)
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera
300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens + 1.4x teleconverter
1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 320

The cryptically colored Kori Bustard is Africa's heaviest flying bird. The male Kori Bustard stands between two and four feet tall, has a wingspan of seven to nine feet, and weighs between 15-40 pounds. According to Wikipedia, the male kori bustard may be the heaviest living animal capable of flight. I enjoyed learning about these unusual looking birds.

The crown is black with a short crest extending from the rear. The neck and face are mid-gray with fine black bars. The mantle is black.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera
300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 800

The back and flight feathers are grayish brown and, not visible in this photo, finely marked with light and dark gray. The breast, belly and underparts are white. The wing coverts are white, broadly marked with black. The eyes are brown. The bill is gray. The legs and feet are light gray.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera
300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 640

The feathers around the neck are loose and fluffy, sometimes giving the false appearance of a much thicker neck.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera
300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens + 1.4x teleconverter
1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 320

During breeding season, the males form as a group (lek) to perform for the females. We did not observe the Kori Bustards in a lek on our trip but the description of the males performance is impressive. "The males hold their heads backwards, with cheeks bulging, the crest is held erect, the bill open and they inflate their gular pouches, forming a white throat "balloon”. During this display the oesophagus inflates to as much as four times its normal size and resembles a balloon." LINK

Kori bustards do not form pair bonds. The males attempt to breed with as many females as possible but then do not participate in the raising of the young. The females are solely responsible for egg incubation and chick rearing. The eggs are incubated for about 24 days. Chicks have feathers and are able to walk when the eggs hatch.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera
300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens + 1.4x teleconverter
1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 320

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.