NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Bustard
Afrotis afra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Black Bustard in South Africa. (perhaps in Langebaan area of the Western Cape)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The southern black korhaan (Afrotis afra), 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Southern black korhaan; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:13:59.764119+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Afrotis afra (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Black Bustard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Otidiformes
- Family
- Otididae
- Genus
- Afrotis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderOtidiformes
- familyOtididae
- genusAfrotis G. R. Gray, 1855
- speciesAfrotis afra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Afrotis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Black BustardAfrotis afraoides (A. Smith, 1831) | OtididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Eupodotis afra (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Otis afra Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=707801 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:65HNS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.