Stanley Bustard
| Denham's bustard | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Otidiformes |
| Family: | Otidae |
| Genus: | Neotis |
| Species: | N. denhami |
| Binomial name | |
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Neotis denhami (Children & Vigors, 1826) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Neotis cafra denhami |
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Neotis cafra denhami
Denham's bustard, Stanley bustard or Stanley's bustard (Neotis denhami) is a large bird in the bustard family. It breeds in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of open ground, including agricultural land, grassland, flood-plains and burnt fynbos. It is resident, but some inland populations move to lower altitudes in winter. The common names for this species refer to the English explorer, Major Dixon Denham, and the English naturalist Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby.
Denham's bustard is the largest species in the Neotis genus, although is smaller than the bustards in the Ardeotis genus (as well as the great bustard). The male is 9 to 10 kg (20 to 22 lb) and 100–116 cm (39–46 in), the female is much smaller at 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb) and 80–87 cm (31–34 in). The back is brown, darker and plainer in the male, and the underparts are white. The neck is pale grey with an orange nape. Its grey crown is bordered with black, and a black line runs through the eye with a white line forming an eyebrow above. The long legs are pale yellow. The wings are strikingly patterned in brown, white and black, the male showing more white in flight than the female or young birds. The long legs are yellowish in color and the bill is whitish horn in color.
The male inflates his throat when displaying to show a conspicuous balloon of white feathers. This species is usually silent.
There are three subspecies of this bustard, all separated in their distribution. N. d. denhami occurs in southwestern Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia then eastwards to Uganda and Ethiopia. N. d. jacksoni is found in Kenya and Tanzania and south to Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, with populations also in Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. N. d. stanleyi occurs in South Africa and Swaziland. The Denham's bustard occupies grassland habitats. Mainly they are distributed in savanna and may be found at any elevation up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). They can be found in a considerable range of secondary habitats including dense shrubland, light woodland, farmland, dried marsh and arid plains.
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Wikipedia