White-bellied bustard

White-bellied bustard
Male calling at Maasai Mara, Kenya
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Otidiformes
Family: Otididae
Genus: Eupodotis
Species: E. senegalensis
Binomial name
Eupodotis senegalensis
(Vieillot, 1820)
Synonyms

Eupodotis barrowii
Eupodotis caffra

The white-bellied bustard or white-bellied korhaan (Eupodotis senegalensis) is an African species of bustard. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa in grassland and open woodland habitats.[2]

Description

E. s. canicollis, male, Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Kenya
Male from Maasai Mara, Kenya
E. s. erlangeri, female, Serengeti, Tanzania
E. s. erlangeri, male, Serengeti, Tanzania

It is rather small for a bustard, 48 to 61 centimetres (19 to 24 in) long. All are tawny brown above and on the breast and white on the belly, with cream-coloured legs; juveniles have light brown necks and heads, and adults have blue-grey necks. The adult female has a grey crown, a brown and buff line below the eye, and black speckling on the throat. The adult male has a black crown, black lines on the white cheeks, a black throat patch, and a pinkish-red bill. The call, often given in the early morning and late evening, has been described as "a very loud, guttural k'whuka WHUKa, k'wuka WHUKa..., or k'warrak, k'warrak...[3]

This species is usually seen in pairs or family groups, as young stay with their parents much longer than those of other bustards in the region.[3]

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized:[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eupodotis senegalensis.
Wikispecies has information related to: Eupodotis senegalensis
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Eupodotis senegalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Sibley, Charles G.; Monroe, Burt L., Jr. (1990), Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World, Yale University Press, p. 217, ISBN 0-300-04969-2, retrieved 2010-03-24
  3. 1 2 Zimmerman, Dale A.; Turner, Donald A.; Pearson, David J. (1999), Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Princeton University Press, pp. 7677, 328, ISBN 0-691-01022-6
  4. White-bellied Bustard, Internet Bird Collection

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.