Heuglin's bustard
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heuglin's bustard (Neotis heuglinii) is a species of bird in the bustard family.
| Heuglin's bustard | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Heuglin's bustard Neotis heuglinii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Otidiformes |
| Family: | Otididae |
| Genus: | Neotis |
| Species: | N. heuglinii |
| Binomial name | |
| Neotis heuglinii (Hartlaub, 1859) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Otis heuglinii | |
The bird was initially described by Theodor von Heuglin and Gustav Hartlaub, although only Hartlaub is normally credited as the author.[3] Hartlaub, a curator at the Bremen Museum of Natural History, coined the species epithet for Heuglin, who collected the specimens and made measurements in the field near Somalia.
Description
It is a fairly large species, at up to 89 cm (35 in) in length.[4] The males weigh 4–8 kg (8.8–17.6 lb) and the much smaller females weigh 2.6–3 kg (5.7–6.6 lb).[5] Other than size, sexes differ considerably in appearance. The striking male has a large back marking over the crown down the face to the chin with a bluish-grey neck. On the male, a chestnut band on the lower chest which is separated from the white belly by a thin black band. The female is much more of a subdued brownish color overall, with no bold black markings and has a face lined with faint slate-gray markings. In flight, the species reveals a white primary wedge on the otherwise dark upperwing, a feature obscured when the species is standing.[4]
The Heuglin's bustard is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. It occurs in pairs or small groups in arid or semi-arid grasslands, even ranging into desert-edge.[4]