Australian Bustards (Ardeotis australis)
Family: Otididae (Bustards) Class: Birds
Also commonly referred to in Central Australia as the Plains or Bush Turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people.
The Australian Bustard is a large spectacular bird - the heaviest flying bird found in Australia.
When disturbed, Australian Bustards often adopt a haughty pose with neck erect and bill pointed skywards. They may stalk gradually away or run if alarmed, taking flight as a last resort.
When they do fly, the flight is strong, with the ends of the wing feathers characteristically spread and up-curved.
They may be found in small groups or singly.
Bustards are the heaviest flying birds in Australia, and amongst the heaviest in the world
Australian Bustards are omnivorous, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, frogs, lizards, and invertebrates. They walk slowly, picking at food items as they wander. They are quite agile when chasing prey.
Populations are nomadic following rain and feed, and can gorge themselves when there is a plague of mice, grasshoppers etc. They are completely compatible with agriculture on grazing lands.
The bustards are a distinctive Old World family that diverged from cranes 70 million years ago.
Bustards are all fairly large - the largest species are the Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) and the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) followed by the three other Ardeotis species which includes the Australian Bustard.
Most species are declining or endangered through habitat loss and hunting, even where they are nominally protected.
There are 27 bustard species in the Otididae family around the world - most of them in Europe and Asia with greatest diversity in Africa.
There are four Bustards in the Ardeotis genus -
Bustards in Victoria
In south eastern Australia the Bustard has become extremely rare within its former range.
They suffered a massive historical decline, and now they have all but disappeared from south-eastern Australia.
These birds were once very common across much of mainland Australia, often occurring in immense flocks.
The basalt plain of western Victoria was formally a major habitat of the bustard and included the large grazing properties north east of Colac in south western Victoria including Barunah Plains, Turkeith, Mountside, Mooleric, Mount Hesse and others.
Bustards were plentiful from 1910 until 1931 when the last nesting was recorded. Flocks ranged from seventeen to forty birds, with two nests recorded in "Spring" 1915 and November 1931.
Juvenile bustards were seen in 1914, 1920 and 1924 from "Spring " to January. The majority of bustards were observed in the first four months of the year and were recorded in all months except June.
After 1931 the number of bustard sightings each year tapered off from seven to one or two by 1965. A male bustard that was killed when it flew into telephone wires at Mt Hesse in September 1931 weighed 10.43 Kilograms.
Bustards in rest of Australia
The Australian Bustard is widespread and breeds in the tropical north of Australia, southern New Guinea and the temperate areas of Western Australia. Breeding also occurs to a much lesser extent in the more remote areas of South Australia.
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Action Statement - Victorian Government 2003 (pdf)
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
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