White-bellied Bustard

Eupodotis senegalensis

A small, tawny-backed bustard with a reddish base to the bill and a strongly demarcated white belly. The male has a blue-gray neck and dark facial markings. Small groups strut through open grassland and bush at elevations below 2000 m. Often first detected by a characteristic, continuous, croaking, nasal “anghara-anghara”, as well as by other similar calls. Female White-bellied Bustard strongly resembles female Black-bellied Bustard, but White-bellied has a shorter neck and legs and white rather than black foreparts to the underwing.

Identification

It is rather small for a bustard, 48 to 61 centimetres (19 to 24 in) long. All are tawny brown above and on the breast and white on the belly, with cream-coloured legs; juveniles have light brown necks and heads, and adults have blue-grey necks. The adult female has a grey crown, a brown and buff line below the eye, and black speckling on the throat. The adult male has a black crown, black lines on the white cheeks, a black throat patch, and a pinkish-red bill. The call, often given in the early morning and late evening, has been described as "a very loud, guttural k'whuka WHUKa, k'wuka WHUKa..., or k'warrak, k'warrak...<p>This species is usually seen in pairs or family groups, as young stay with their parents much longer than those of other bustards in the region.

Taxonomy

Genus: Eupodotis; Family: Otididae; Order: Otidiformes.

Scientific name
Eupodotis senegalensis
Authority
(Vieillot, 1821)
Order
Otidiformes
Family
Otididae
Genus
Eupodotis

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: declining.

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

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