Kori Bustard (updated 8/18/2005)

Kori Bustard is a bird, who's feathers Salmon Fly Tyers covet but most of them know very little about. To learn a great deal about the bird, it's range,habits and populations simply click on KORI BUSTARD AT THE ZOO. It's a link to FONZ (Friends Of the National Zoo) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. It's worth reading and they certainly deserve our support. The picture to the right is a photograph of Uche at 6 months old one of the National Zoo's success stories.

The Fort Worth Zoo also has an interesting and informative web page on Kori as well as some stunning pictures of their birds. Click WhoZoo to go to the Kori home page and be sure to look at more information about Kori Bustard.

The Kori Bustard Species Survival Project has the responsibility of ensuring the survival of the wild birds and protecting the birds in captivity as well as active breeding programs both here in the U.S. and in Africa. If you want to do something to help them help the birds which in turn will be benefiting Fly Tyers in the near future click on SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL KORI or FREE KORI BUSTARD on the menue bar at the upper left.

Aside from Golden Pheasant tail, Kori Bustard seems to be the most often called for natural colored feather in Classic Atlantic Fly wings. The feather we use the most is generally from the wings and back of the bird. It?s a beautiful dark brown base color with light tan vermiculation (A very fine wavy crosswise color marking, or a patch of such markings, as on the feathers of birds). The color and patterning can vary from bird to bird and from feather to feather on the same bird.

For your enjoyment, Sara Hallager, SSP (Species Survival Plan) Coordinator for the Kori Bustard, has been kind enough to share some personal pictures of a few of the birds under her care. In the top row the first four are Ladies of the zoo Mama, Jane,Tanzy and Zuri. The fifth in that row is Kote one of the new arrivals at the National Zoo. Simply click on the thumbnails below to enlarge them.



Row two is Noname, called Nonami, their hansome adult male.



Row three below is Neema, Tanzy and Zuri all females. Zuri is, as Sara Calls her, "her first born".



August 18 2005 Our friend Sara Hallager has sent this series of stunning pictures depicting two Kori chicks born in 2004. Pacha and Malki are their names. Malki (female) is Swahili for "King" and Pacha (male) is Swahili for "one of twins". Yes, they know Malki?s name is male, but when she was born, they don't know the sex of the chick, so it is a crap shoot in terms of naming. Both chicks now reside in the Living Desert Museum located in California as part of the 2005 Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendations. For additional information on their very successful breeding program see The Zoo's Bonus Bustards There is additional information on Bustards we should all see and read: The Bustards: Puffing, Jumping, Running Toward Oblivion and finally why do we call them Bustards What's in a Name?

Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger image: