Field Guide
Buff-crested Bustard
Eupodotis gindiana Swahili: Tandawala
- Type
- Bird
- Daily Rhythm
- Diurnal
- Diet
- Omnivorous
- Conservation Status
- Lower risk
- Weight
- 1.5 to 2.0 lb (0.7 to 1.0 kg)
- Size
- 21 in (54 cm) long
A male buff-crested bustard trying to attract a female has three ways to put on a show: He can stand at attention and screech; he can strut around a female while uttering a low clicking that becomes a screech; or he can become an aerial acrobat. He rockets straight up, then partially somersaults and “falls” with wings closed, head back, crest erect, and chest puffed out, waiting until the last moment to pull out of the dive.
Buff-crested bustards are found in pairs or family groups.
Male calls are a loud and piercing series of kri-kri.
Buff-crested bustards are terrestrial birds that are also strong fliers. They spend the day ground-feeding and dust-bathing.
Buff-crested bustards are omnivorous, eating insects as well as vegetation.
A female buff-crested bustard scratches a shallow nest on the ground and lays a single egg, which she incubates on her own for 20 to 23 days. Her coloring helps her blend with her environment.
Buff-crested bustards prefer the dry bush and thorn-scrub areas of Kenya. They are absent from the highlands and moister western regions.
Buff-crested bustards live in dry, semiarid regions of northeastern Africa in a range that encompasses Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
