Black-bellied Korhaan/bustard (Lissotis melanogaster) Gruiformes - Family: Otitidae
It is a well known bird in Africa occurring from Senegal to Ethiopia and extends down to South Africa where it is found in the north eastern parts.
The males do a wonderful and elaborate courtship display in summer, standing on a raised mound of sand, calling and then flying upwards, spreading its wings and floating down again.
The incubating of the babies is done solely by the female and her eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush or tree.
It generally prefers tall, dense woodland and grassy savanna as well as cultivated pastures, fields, fallow lands and woodland, such as cluster-leaf (Terminalia), Baikaea plurijaga (Zambezi teak), bushwillows (Combretum), Mopane (Colospermum mopane) and miombo (Brachystegia).
Its diet is little known in southern Africa, but elsewhere it is omnivorous, mainly feeding on small invertebrates, such as locusts, grasshoppers and beetles, as well as vegetable matter, such as fruit, seeds and leaves.
They are fairly large standing about 50cm (18”) in height and the female lacks the black breast and markings so is altogether drab looking.
