page_title: Southern black korhaan
section_title: Diet
hierarchical_section_title: Southern black korhaan / Behavior / Diet
caption_attribution_description: Bontebok NP, Western Cape, SOUTH AFRICA
context_page_description: The southern black korhaan, also known as the black bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. This small bustard is found in southwestern South Africa, from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town and east to Makhanda. It prefers semi-arid habitats such as grasslands, shrublands and savannas where it can easily prey on ground-dwelling arthropods and eat seeds. It reproduces yearly in the spring and will lay about one or two eggs per breeding season.
  Numbers have declined rapidly as much of its habitat has been converted to agricultural land and remaining tracts are often fragmented. Due to this habitat destruction, the species is considered vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
context_section_description: This is an omnivorous species. Two-thirds of its diet is made up of arthropods, and it will eat termites, beetles, grasshoppers and ants. The rest of its diet is composed of plant matter, mostly seeds. It partakes in a mutualistic relationship with Acacia cyclops, a species of Acacia; the southern black korhaan benefits from the seeds as they are a readily available food source, and in return, disperses the seeds to good germination sites. The southern black korhaan will also ingest grit and other small rocks to help in digestion by assisting the grinding process in the gizzard. A study has also shown that two thirds of birds have nematode parasites in their intestinal tract.
caption: Southern black korhaan (Afrotis afra) - male
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