Black-bellied Bustard ( Lissotis melanogaster, family: Otididae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Black-bellied Korhaan
The Black-bellied Bustard (Latin name Lissotis melanogaster) is
described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird
has a unique Roberts number of 238 and you will find a full description
of this bird on page 306 also a picture of the Black-bellied Bustard on
page 304. The Black-bellied Bustard belongs to the family of birds
classified as Otididae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of
African Ornithology the Black-bellied Bustard is also known by these
other names: Long-legged Korhaan, Black-bellied Korhaan.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Black-bellied Bustard was called the Black-bellied Korhaan. The Robert's 7 Latin name for Black-bellied Bustard has changed from Eupodotis melanogaster in Robert's 6 to Lissotis melanogaster.
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Black-bellied Bustard is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Black-bellied Bustard can be seen all over the Park.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Black-bellied Bustard is a largish bird about the same size as a Pied Crow. The height of the Black-bellied Bustard is about 65 cms and its weight is about 1200 gms
You will find that the male Black-bellied Bustard plumage and colours are different to that of the female Black-bellied Bustard
- Head is brown.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is brown.
- Legs are yellow.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Black-bellied Bustard feeds on the ground mainly
Smaller animals
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Black-bellied Bustard takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).
The nesting habit of Black-bellied Bustard is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1 to 2
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Black-bellied Bustard are: woodlands and grasslands . The Black-bellied Bustard is also at home in wetland areas.
You will normally see the Black-bellied Bustard by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... uFumba/uNofunjwa
Afrikaans ...Langbeenkorhaan
German ... Schwarzbauchtrappe
Portuguese ... Abetarda-de-barriga-preta
French ... Outarde ventre noir
Dutch ... Zwartbuiktrap
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 238
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
