Ludwig's bustard (''Neotis ludwigii'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the

bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustar ...

family, and named after

Baron von Ludwig Carl Ferdinand Heinrich von Ludwig aka Baron von Ludwig (6 October 1784 Sulz am Neckar – 27 December 1847 Cape Town), the son of a clerk in the ecclesiastical administration, he was a German-born pharmacist, businessman and patron of the natural ...

. It is a medium-to-large sized species.

Description

The Ludwig's bustard can weigh from , with a mean of for the much larger male and for the female. Length ranges from in females and in males. The bird’s face and front neck are coloured grey-brown while the back of the neck and face is white. The

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...

of the neck is coloured a dull orange. Females and juveniles vary from the male adults by their smaller size and slightly lighter coloured front neck and face. The Ludwig’s bustard is frequently confused with Stanley’s bustard (more commonly known as the Denham’s bustard), ''Neotis denham.'' The Denham’s bustard, however, has a paler grey on its face and front neck, a browner nape, and is also marked with unique crown stripes of black and white on its head.

Taxonomy

Ludwig’s bustard is a member of the

Otididae Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustard ...

family, which comprises the bustards. General bustard characteristics include short, stout bills; camouflaged bodies; and dwelling in

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s. Ludwig’s bustard is part of the African bustard

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

known as ''

Neotis ''Neotis'' is a bird genus in the family Otididae Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the ...

'', which has three other species besides Ludwig’s bustard.

Habitat and Distribution

Typical of a bustard, Ludwig’s bustard lives in grasslands and in

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

regions. Their range is typically confined to the Western side of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, in Western

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and sometimes in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

. The total range of the species is roughly 380 000 km². In the 1980s, the total population of Ludwig’s bustards was estimated to be 56 000 – 81 000. Recent population estimates of Ludwig’s bustards say that there are about 114 000 of the birds in South Africa alone. It was commonly believed that the bustards tended to follow rainfall patterns, but this has since been disputed by newer research. However, there does appear to be significant evidence that these birds do prefer to live in modified habitats such as agricultural fields and pastures. Ludwig’s bustards do not form large flocks, tending to be seen in groups with an average size of 2.13 individuals in summer and 3.56 individuals in winter.

Behavior

Vocalizations

The

mating call A mating call is the auditory signal used by animals to attract mates. It can occur in males or females, but literature is abundantly favored toward researching mating calls in females. In addition, mating calls are often the subject of mate choic ...

of the Ludwig’s bustard is a deep ‘bloop’ noise. Not a lot of more specific information on the vocalizations of this species is available.

Diet

Ludwig’s bustards have a varied diet. They can eat small animals on the ground such as insects and

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

s. Their preferred insect to consume is the

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

, which are common in their habitat. They are also capable of consuming flowers and seeds.

Reproduction

Ludwig’s bustards live in large, desolate regions which are difficult to access for scientific studies. They are also easily disrupted by scientists seeking to gather information on them. As such, not much information is available for the reproductive behaviors of Ludwig’s bustards, but they have been reported to breed during the month of March in Namibia.

Powerline Collisions

A very pertinent issue to conservation efforts of the Ludwig’s bustard is their overwhelming tendency to fatally collide with powerlines within their habitats. This issue is mainly due to the visual blind spots of bustards being positioned such that when they look down a small degree while in flight, they are no longer able to detect obstacles in their flightpath. This collision problem is of such a dire magnitude that the future of the species may be in jeopardy because of it. An estimated 4 000 – 11 900 Ludwig’s bustards are killed each year through these collisions. To help with the conservation of the species in the face of this threat, more detailed information and statistics of the Ludwig’s bustards are necessary for any significant plan of action to be made. In the meantime, future increases in infrastructure construction and power grid upgrades in the habitats of Ludwig’s bustards will naturally pose an increasing threat to the Ludwig’s bustard population.

References

External links

* Ludwig's Bustard
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q890352 Ludwig's bustard Birds of Southern Africa Ludwig's bustard Taxonomy articles created by Polbot