Heuglin's Bustard

The Heuglintrappe ( Neotis heuglinii ) is a species of bird in the bustard family. The specific epithet honors the German ornithologist Theodore of Heuglin.

Features

The male of the Heuglintrappe reached a size of 75 centimeters and a weight of 4.0 to 8.0 kg. The female weighs 2.6 to 3.0 kg. The Heuglintrappe similar to the Nubiertrappe ( Neotis nuba ). She has a dirty black face and the bright color of the top of the head goes back over into whitish. The chestnut breast is bounded below by a dark band. The top is more mottled and patterned. In the female the head is more grayish than in the male.

Occurrence

The distribution of Heuglintrappe extends from Eritrea across eastern and southern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and northern and southern central Somalia to northern Kenya.

Habitat

The Heuglintrappe inhabited dry lowlands to the open wasteland with one year of grass vegetation, semi-desert savannah and grassland with Tussockvegetation. 93 percent of the distribution area in Kenya is in a range of less than 500 mm of rainfall per year.

Way of life

The Heuglintrappe is a sedentary but nomadic bird. Their way of life is so far little explored. The diet consists of Spring terror, small vertebrates as well as berries and other vegetarian food The breeding season is from April to June in the north-eastern Africa and from January to June in northern Kenya, when the grass is at its highest due to the rains. There are laid two eggs on the bare ground aufgescharrten.

Status

The IUCN considers the species as " not at risk " ( " least concern "). It is fairly common in northern Kenya and northern Somalia, not often in the largest part of Ethiopia and rare in Eritrea. Given the relatively limited distribution area and the limited information about the lifestyle of intensive studies are needed.