Ground Birds - Part 2
- By Saronkorn Seuyouyong
- Published 09/24/2008
- Pets
- Unrated
Like all bustards, Africa’s handsome Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori nests on the ground. Bustards are powerful fliers and when they take to the air they fly like cranes with their necks stretched out and their legs trailing behind. However, they are more often seen on the ground, roaming about the grassy plains in small family parties.
Bustards prefer a vegetarian diet, but they will sometimes eat small mammals and throughout their lives consume vast quantities of insects, especially locusts. Their addiction to locusts puts them strongly on the side of the farmers.
Well adapted to its life on the South African veldt, the Kori is a quiet, rather sedate bird, except in the mating season when the cock indulges in fierce sparring battles as he fights off contenders for the hen of his choice. His display is very impressive as he inflates his breast and neck feathers and spreads out his wings until he looks almost twice his normal size. The hen makes little or no pretence at providing a nest but lays her eggs almost always straight onto the ground.
Bustards seem to have very little fear of man which makes them ‘fair’ game in countries where they are not protected, but, if anything does alarm them, they will almost invariably choose to run rather than take to the air to escape danger. According to palaeontologists, fossil remains of bustards have been found which date back some 50 million years to the Eocene epoch.
Another swift-running bird is the Cassowary of Australasia and New Guinea which, like the Ostrich and the Emu, has lost its power to fly. The Cassowary, with its distinctive booming call, is a wary bird, more often heard than seen as it moves about the dense undergrowth. The extraordinary bony helmet or casque on top of its featherless head is thought to serve as a kind of shield against thorns as it runs, head thrust forward, through the bushes. It probably also has some sexual significance. The adults have very coarse, hair-like feathers which may also be of some protection in the tangled underbrush of their jungle home.
Cassowaries are notoriously bad-tempered and aggressive, and if cornered will turn and face their adversary, Their feathers are used in tribal headdresses and on more than one occasion native hunters have lost their lives, killed by slashing blows from the Cassowary’s feet, which are armed with long, dangerously sharp claws.
The Australian Cassowary Casuarius casuarius is the largest member of the family. Unlike most other large flightless birds, it is a good swimmer and will take to water when closely pursued. The hen lays her eggs on a platform nest made of leaves and the chicks have a natural protection in their gay, striped colouring, which blends in with their surroundings. About the size of a Common Pheasant, the Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae is one of Australia’s most famous birds. Only the cock has the fantastic, beautiful tail, which he spreads out and swings over his head during his elaborate courtship dance.
Lyrebirds spend most of their time on the ground but as night falls they fly into the forest trees to roost. They are probably the finest of all the bird mimics, able to reproduce with uncanny accuracy not only the calls of other birds and some mammals, but mechanical sounds as well.
The two birds shown on the right are ground-nesters, as is the lyrebird and both are native to Africa. The Vulturine Guineafowl Acryllium vulturinum , so called because its head and neck are featherless and make it look like a vulture, is one of the most colourfull of the guineafowls. They are birds of the grasslands and are often seen in the company of zebras and antelopes as they forage for insects.
Another interesting ground bird is the large Ground Hornbill, Bucoruus leadbeateri , found in Africa. Its grotesque bill is not nearly as heavy as it looks. The Ground Hornbill often nests in small caves in rockfaces or tree hollows but, unlike other member of the hornbill family, does not imprison the hen during the incubation period. Ground Hornbills are birds of the open savannas, moving around in small groups. Apart form colossal quantities of insects, they also eat rats and snakes and will often band together to attack quite a large snake.
These hornbills occasionally come to a somewhat ignominious end. They are caught and killed by native hunters who stuff their heads and use them as a disguise for stalking game.
Bustards prefer a vegetarian diet, but they will sometimes eat small mammals and throughout their lives consume vast quantities of insects, especially locusts. Their addiction to locusts puts them strongly on the side of the farmers.
Well adapted to its life on the South African veldt, the Kori is a quiet, rather sedate bird, except in the mating season when the cock indulges in fierce sparring battles as he fights off contenders for the hen of his choice. His display is very impressive as he inflates his breast and neck feathers and spreads out his wings until he looks almost twice his normal size. The hen makes little or no pretence at providing a nest but lays her eggs almost always straight onto the ground.
Bustards seem to have very little fear of man which makes them ‘fair’ game in countries where they are not protected, but, if anything does alarm them, they will almost invariably choose to run rather than take to the air to escape danger. According to palaeontologists, fossil remains of bustards have been found which date back some 50 million years to the Eocene epoch.
Another swift-running bird is the Cassowary of Australasia and New Guinea which, like the Ostrich and the Emu, has lost its power to fly. The Cassowary, with its distinctive booming call, is a wary bird, more often heard than seen as it moves about the dense undergrowth. The extraordinary bony helmet or casque on top of its featherless head is thought to serve as a kind of shield against thorns as it runs, head thrust forward, through the bushes. It probably also has some sexual significance. The adults have very coarse, hair-like feathers which may also be of some protection in the tangled underbrush of their jungle home.
Cassowaries are notoriously bad-tempered and aggressive, and if cornered will turn and face their adversary, Their feathers are used in tribal headdresses and on more than one occasion native hunters have lost their lives, killed by slashing blows from the Cassowary’s feet, which are armed with long, dangerously sharp claws.
The Australian Cassowary Casuarius casuarius is the largest member of the family. Unlike most other large flightless birds, it is a good swimmer and will take to water when closely pursued. The hen lays her eggs on a platform nest made of leaves and the chicks have a natural protection in their gay, striped colouring, which blends in with their surroundings. About the size of a Common Pheasant, the Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae is one of Australia’s most famous birds. Only the cock has the fantastic, beautiful tail, which he spreads out and swings over his head during his elaborate courtship dance.
Lyrebirds spend most of their time on the ground but as night falls they fly into the forest trees to roost. They are probably the finest of all the bird mimics, able to reproduce with uncanny accuracy not only the calls of other birds and some mammals, but mechanical sounds as well.
The two birds shown on the right are ground-nesters, as is the lyrebird and both are native to Africa. The Vulturine Guineafowl Acryllium vulturinum , so called because its head and neck are featherless and make it look like a vulture, is one of the most colourfull of the guineafowls. They are birds of the grasslands and are often seen in the company of zebras and antelopes as they forage for insects.
Another interesting ground bird is the large Ground Hornbill, Bucoruus leadbeateri , found in Africa. Its grotesque bill is not nearly as heavy as it looks. The Ground Hornbill often nests in small caves in rockfaces or tree hollows but, unlike other member of the hornbill family, does not imprison the hen during the incubation period. Ground Hornbills are birds of the open savannas, moving around in small groups. Apart form colossal quantities of insects, they also eat rats and snakes and will often band together to attack quite a large snake.
These hornbills occasionally come to a somewhat ignominious end. They are caught and killed by native hunters who stuff their heads and use them as a disguise for stalking game.
Saronkorn Seuyouyong
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