The karoo korhaan, also known as karoo bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae, from Southern Africa. There are two subspecies, the nominate race, from south-eastern South Africa, and H. v. namaqua, from north-western South Africa and southern Namibia.
Region
Southwestern Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs across the Karoo and adjacent semi-arid regions of South Africa and into southern Namibia, with two subspecies occupying southeast and northwest ranges. Prefers open dwarf-scrub and succulent Karoo, gravel plains, and sparsely vegetated farmland. It avoids tall grass, dense woodland, and rugged mountains, favoring flat to gently undulating terrain. Often uses roadside verges, fallow fields, and lightly grazed rangelands where visibility is high.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the Karoo bustard, this small bustard is highly camouflaged and often freezes to avoid detection in the open scrub of the Karoo. Males give loud, barking calls and perform conspicuous displays after rains. Nests are simple scrapes on the ground with one or two well-camouflaged eggs. It is generally tolerant of sparsely grazed rangelands but avoids dense vegetation.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, direct flight and brief glides; explosive flush when disturbed
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, with males holding loose territories. Courtship and breeding are timed to follow rainfall, when food is abundant. The nest is a shallow ground scrape with 1–2 eggs, and chicks are precocial and mobile soon after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, harsh bark or grating 'kraaaak/kor-haaaan' call, often delivered from the ground or a small rise. Males call repeatedly during displays, which can include upright postures and short, bounding runs.
Plumage
Cryptic mottled and finely barred brown, buff, and grey upperparts with paler, lightly streaked underparts; plumage blends with arid scrub and gravel. Males show more contrasting head-and-neck patterning, especially in display, while females and immatures are duller and more uniformly mottled.
Diet
Takes a mixed diet of insects such as beetles, termites, grasshoppers, and ants, along with spiders and other small invertebrates. Also consumes seeds, flowers, bulbs, and tender shoots of dwarf shrubs and succulents. Diet composition shifts seasonally, with more animal prey taken after rains when insects are abundant.
Preferred Environment
Forages by walking slowly through open dwarf-scrub and gravel plains, pecking items from the ground and low vegetation. Frequently feeds along tracks, road verges, and lightly grazed pastures where visibility and prey availability are high.
