Lissotis melanogaster
The Black-bellied Bustard is an inhabitant of higher rainfall grassland, savanna and woodland habitats, usually with tall, dense grass cover in which it is fairly difficult to see and often near wetlands. Insects and other invertebrates make up the bulk of their diet, with a bit of berries, seeds and green leaves thrown in for variety. With a weight of up to 2.7kg the males are considerably bigger than the females, which averages around 1.4kg.
Black-bellied Bustards are usually seen singly or in temporary pairs, the latter mainly during the breeding season (which spans spring and summer) when males will attempt to mate with as many females as possible. Apart from an elaborate flying display the male also employs a most amusing two-step call with which it tries to impress the females, almost as if he has a burp stuck in his throat released with a load “pop”! The female lays a well camouflaged clutch of 1 or 2 eggs in a scrape on the bare ground, usually between tufts of grass, and is singly responsible for the incubation of the eggs and the care of the chicks.
The IUCN lists the Black-bellied Bustard as being of least concern, though it also notes that its populations are probably dropping due to habitat degradation. It is widely distributed in the savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia and southwards to South Africa, where it occurs in Kwazulu-Natal and the Escarpment and Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
DeWetsWild 
Nou wonder ek alweer… kalkoen oor die kole… met ‘n lekker knoffel bottertjie?
En ‘n glasie van die beste?? 🥂😁👍
Ek dink jy gaan laaaaank kou aan hierdie kalkoen…
Laaaaank kou is goed vir die spysverteering, dan nie?? 😁😁
The female is definitely prettier than the male. 😍
And here I was thinking he went to quite some trouble to look his most presentable! 😀
Maybe he did, but his lady spends more at the salon. 😅
😀
That’s alliteration – B-B-B — and it makes me smile. I think that you get the prize for presenting to us so many lovely species with such crazy-but-fun names!
Oh thank you so much, Lisa!
The bird is very striking and I also had to laugh at the call. It sounds like he has hiccups. 😅
It really is one of the strangest sounds I know of any bird!
Such a rich variety of nature’s creatures I find on your blog!
Thanks, Robert! We’re so happy that we can feature so many still.
I enjoyed your pics of this stunning bird. I double-took at bustard rather than korhaan though! That call is hilarious to witness – I think it is because there is something about the timing. Even though it is always about the same, the pop is somehow not precisely predictable.
Yes, these revised names often have me confused too – at which point does a Korhaan become a Bustard, exactly! 😀
I can watch the “burpy” call over and over, and giggle every time…
Yes it is amazing how that call is laugh-out-loud amusing – even more so on repeat somehow!
Ek bly uit die pad van groot voëls
😉
Dis seker goeie raad, Tina…
An attractive bird. What does the mating call sound like?
janet
This short video illustrates the call perfectly, Janet:
Thanks!
You have posted an interesting array of photographs.
Thank you very much, Anne
These look similar to a bird in Wyoming….I hit one with my car when I was in the Yellowstone National Park – it was mortifying.
I’m sure you felt really terrible after it happened, Pam. Unfortunately wildlife is often unpredictable and accidents happen no matter how careful you are.
These birds look rather….large…to fly. I do like the way the male hesitates, almost as if he is waiting for the right moment, before he does his mating call.
We’ve had a few chuckles at their mating calls, Lois… 😀
Nice looking bird! Great photos! 🙂
Thanks, H.J.