Lissotis melanogaster
The Black-bellied Bustard (Lissotis melanogaster) is a medium-sized and strikingly patterned ground-dwelling bird endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, exhibiting significant sexual dimorphism. Males are considerably larger, typically weighing 1.8-2.6 kg with a length of 58-65 cm, featuring a distinctive glossy black belly, grey head and neck, and mottled brown upperparts. Females are smaller, 1.2-1.8 kg and 48-52 cm, lacking the prominent black belly, instead displaying cryptic brown streaking acro...
Primarily inhabits open grasslands, savannas, and cultivated fields, favoring areas with a mix of short grass and scattered taller vegetation for cover. It is found from sea level up to moderate elevations, generally below 2,000 meters.
Primarily omnivorous, consuming a wide range of invertebrates, especially grasshoppers, beetles, and termites, supplemented by small vertebrates, seeds, and green plant matter. Forages by walking slowly and pecking items from the ground.
These bustards are largely diurnal, often observed walking slowly through grasslands, foraging, and typically roosting on the ground, often in slightly denser vegetation, at night. They employ a 'walk-and-peck' foraging strategy, systematically scanning the ground for prey. Males are highly terri...
The Black-bellied Bustard is widely, though often patchily, distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, typically as a resident species with local nomadic movements. Its range extends from Senegal and Gambia eastward to Ethiopia and Somalia, and southward through East Africa to Angola and South Africa...
Least Concern
- The Black-bellied Bustard male's advertising call is one of the loudest bird calls in the African bush, often described as a deep "kwak-kwak" or "honk-honk" that can carry for long distances. - During courtship, males perform a spectacular aerial display, flying in circles with slow, deliberate...