Otididae – Bustards, Floricans & Korhaans

The Otididae are the sole family in the order Otidiformes. It includes bustards, floricans and korhaans. (Two of the Indian bustards are called floricans and some Southern African species are known as Korhaans). They are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old-World. They range in length from 40cm to 150cm. They are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, and invertebrates.

They are all fairly large birds with the two largest species (Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori and Great Bustard Otis tarda) being frequently cited as the world’s heaviest flying birds. In both of the largest species, large males can exceed a weight of 20kg. They weigh around 13.5 kg on average and can attain a total length of 150cm. The smallest species is the Little Brown Bustard Heterotetrax humilis, which averages 40cm in length and around 600g in weight.

In most bustards, males are substantially larger than females, often about 30% longer and sometimes more than twice the weight. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds. In only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism reversed, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than the male.

Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Their wings have 10 primaries and 16–24 secondary feathers and there are 18–20 feathers in the tail. The plumage is predominantly cryptic.

Bustards are omnivorous, feeding principally on seeds and invertebrates. They make their nests on the ground, making their eggs and offspring often very vulnerable to predation. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. Most prefering to run or walk over flying. They have long broad wings with ‘fingered’ wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays, such as inflating throat sacs or elevating elaborate feathered crests. The female lays three to five dark, speckled eggs in a scrape in the ground, and incubates them alone.

Bustards are gregarious outside the breeding season, but are very wary and difficult to approach in the open habitats they prefer.

MacQueen’s Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Ranging in size a small chicken to a large turkey, all have an alert walking gait and they will freeze, crouching when danger approaches relying on their camouflaged plumage to avoid detection. Sadly, most species are declining or endangered through habitat loss and hunting, even where they are nominally protected.