Physical description:

Height 120-centimetre (4-foot). Standing up to 54" with the male much larger than female.

Body length:   50" (128 cm) . 

Weight:   19kg.

Height:   65 cm

Coloration:  mottled grayish-buff with dark brown wavy stripes.  The sides of the crown on the head extend into a black crest.

Over each eye there is a white stripe. 

Chin, throat, and neck are creamy white mixed with black bands. 

The underparts of the bird are buff colored with dark brown feathers.

Long-necked, long-legged; long foot ended by three fingers with light brown or grey plumage. 

Short bill.

No hind toe or preening gland.

Males are stouter and have whitish, bristly feathers at the base of bill.

Tail has wide bands of grayish brown and white. 

Shoulder area has a checkered black and white pattern.

General information:
 

Kori Bustards are found in the East Africa as well as in South Africa. The locations in East Africa are Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. The subspecies  are distributed in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, southern Angola, South Africa, and southern Mozambique. Kori Bustards inhabit wide, open grasslands, and lightly wooded savanna. The subspecies kori can be found in arid savanna areas where trees are usually scattered. Kori Bustards are very fond of  areas with short grass and a nice scenery. These birds are not known to migrate as much as other birds, only when needed during  scarcity of food or weather. 

The Kori Bustard is  known as Africa's heaviest bird. It is an omnivore, eating both plant like berries and animals, like lizards and snakes.. For chicks, the main course is insects. It has been found that they eat the gum from the Acacia tree.  Whether they are feeding on insects who may eat the gum themselves or are digesting the gum directly has not been determined.   Another important habit of Kori Bustards is that they drink using a  sucking motion, unlike other birds that scoop up the water with their bills.. 
 
 

Bustard chick: National Zoo
http://natzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/Facts/FactSheets/fact-koribustard.cfm

Behavior:

They live in open plains. They are ground dwellers,  hence the name bustard, meaning birds that walk.  They fly only when necessary because of their weight. "It is thought that they have reached a size and weight that represents the upper limit for flying bird."  It is even appearing that the Kori Bustards may become categorized as the few large flightless birds like ostriches and emus, which means they may be  returning to an ancient ancestral form, since they, and the other cranes, are descendants of large flig../../birds/craneline/cranes/korifemalesFWZ12212000a54.JPGhtless predators. They have a long life span and breed slowly. They tend to remain in the same area as long as the food source is good, then they migrate as most animals do. "One bird was observed to defend a termite nest from others, and then eat from it from time to time." 

Kori Bustards are considered to be a polygynous species. During pre-mating, "the male will inflate its neck and trail its wings as it dances before the female." Some male bustards even act further aand ruffle all their feathers, appearing as a great white ball.  They  may also bow toward the female while inflating the bill. Males tend to pitch a booming sound too.  By this time the male is noticed by the female. Breeding males display this act either early in the day, or late afternoon. "Males take no part in raising the young. Females remain on the nest most of the time, leaving it only short interval, to feed."  Reproduction usually only occurs once a year lasting about 23-30 days. When the female is laying her eggs, it is common for a mother not to create a thick nest; she may even lay them on ground.

The male is twice as large as the female. The Kori bustard's diet are insects, small rodents and seeds. Kori bustards can live alone or in small groups. Kori bustard is 1 of 22 species of bustard.. The Kori bustard is a ground bird that lives in dry, open grasslands in south and east Africa. The male is 20 pounds and female is smaller weighing about 13 pounds with a wing span of four feet. Walks rapidly with wing stride. 

Observing the Kori Bustard for 20 minutes. The Kori bustard was not a very active bird. Not much movement of the bird was actually taking place. One bird for a walked the circumference of  the fence, back and forth. While the other just walked away slowly and would continuously stop and observe the tree. Nothing other than the walking around and pruning was done by the bird but one noticable action. The bird brought its neck toward its body and its neck seem to be no longer extended.