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7

Australian Bustard

(Ardeotis australis)
Alternate name(s): "Plains Turkey", "Wild Turkey", "Turkey", "Kori Bustard"
Aboriginal name(s): Race "australis": "mantaba", "murranudda", "boorawa" ("burrawa"), "cooraki", "kipara", "kyogle", "nanatee", "nanundi", "numerkah", "pooranna", "ballala", "kio", "gumblegubbin" "bebilya", "kooli", "wabanga", "bibilerak", "barado" (WA)

Size: 80 cm - 1.3 m; wing span up to 2.3 m
Weight: 4-7 (max. 14) kg (male), 2-4 kg (female)
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Australian Bustard at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Lateral view of a male Australian Bustard in courtship display (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Near Mount Molloy, QLD, October 2010]

Close-up lateral view of a male Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Karumba, QLD, November 2012]

Lateral view of a male Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pickford Road, Biboohra, near Mareeba, QLD, December 2019]

Lateral view of two male Australian Bustards (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Lateral view of two male Australian Bustards (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Lateral view of a male Australian Bustard in open grassland
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2014]

Near-dorsal view of a male Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Mareeba, QLD, September 2020]

Dorsal view of a male Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pickford Road, Biboohra, near Mareeba, QLD, December 2019]

Dorsal view of a male Australian Bustard in open grassland
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2014]

Lateral view of a male Australian Bustard in flight
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2014]

FEMALE

Full-frontal view of a female Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Karumba, QLD, November 2012]

Lateral view of a female Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Karumba, QLD, November 2012]

Lateral view of a female Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Karumba, QLD, November 2012]

Near-dorsal view of a female Australian Bustard; note the dusky spots on the back (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Dorsal view of a female Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Adventure Way, N of Innamincka (SA), QLD, September 2018]

PAIR

Pair of Australian Bustards, male in front (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[20 km SE of Bedourie, QLD, August 2022]

Sex unknown

Lateral view of an Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri, NSW, May 2021]

Near-dorsal view of an Australian Bustard
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, February 2023]

Close-up dorsal view of an Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri, NSW, May 2021]

Dorsal view of an Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri, NSW, May 2021]

Near-lateral view of an Australian Bustard in flight, wings up
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]

Near-lateral view of an Australian Bustard in flight, wings down
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]


Two phases of the wing beat of an Australian Bustard - note the goose-like appearance in the down phase
(photos courtesy of B. Hensen)
[East Alligator River, NT, July 2018]

Near-dorsal view of 5 Australian Bustards in flight
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]

Near-dorsal view of an Australian Bustard
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, February 2023]

Dorsal view of an Australian Bustard in low flight (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Adventure Way, N of Innamincka (SA), QLD, September 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Australian Bustard - note the absence of a dark breast band; the fact that this bird is starting to display its distended air sack indicates that it is a young male (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Carbine, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile male Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Carbine, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Carbine, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Carbine, QLD, November 2018]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Australian Bustard (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Carbine, QLD, November 2018]

Behaviour

There is a separate page describing a male Australian Bustard displaying to impress a female HERE.

Australian Bustards, here 4 out of a group of 5 are shown, have a preference for open country, usually grassland, sometimes with nearby scattered trees or shrubs, often with prickly weeds
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, May 2020]

A typical occurrence in large parts of QLD: Australian Bustards stepping off the road (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[20 km SE of Bedourie, QLD, August 2022]

A typical occurrence in large parts of QLD: Australian Bustard stepping off the road (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Einasleigh, QLD, September 2019]

We have observed an Australian Bustard cowering to avoid detection in vegetation that was too short to provide good cover. While staying low, the bird was absolutely invisible.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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