#otidae

[herpsandbirds]

Kori Bustards (Ardeotis kori), family Otididae, order Otidiformes, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

The largest flying bird in Africa.

photograph by Dimitar Nedelchev

[podartists]

The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) | Joseph Wolf | Zoological sketches v.1 (1861) | Biodiversity Heritage Library | Flickr | Public domain

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Denham’s Bustard (Neotis denhami)

Also known as Stanley’s Bustard, Denham’s bustard is a large species of bustard (Otidae) that breeds throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. Three subspecies are known to occur, N. d. denhami which occurs in southwestern Mauritania, Senegal, and Gambia then eastwards to Uganda and Ethiopia. N. d. jacksoni which is native t to Kenya and Tanzania south to Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and with populations in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The third N. d. stanleyi which occurs in South Africa and Swaziland. Like other bustards, Denham’s bustard spends most of its time on the ground feeding on insects and small veterbates. Denham’s bustards are known to prefer open ground, including agricultural land, grassland, flood-plains and burnt fynbos.

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Gruiformes-Otidae-Neotis-N. denhami

Image: Bernard DUPONT