Nonyane

 

The kori bustard (kgori) is one of the most known birds in Botswana partly because of its huge frame and the fact that it is considered a delicacy reserved only for royalty.

It is often called nonyane ya dikgosi. In the olden days, ordinary people were forbidden from eating it and if it so happened that a hunter killed the bird while out hunting, he would take it straight to the kgosi as a tribute to him. In some instances, some members of merafe who were regarded inferior, were expected to give it to someone from the senior merafe. Legend has it that the Bakgalagadi were not allowed to eat the bird and if they happened to catch it, they would give it to the nearest Mokwena, a tribal cousin.

The majestic kori bustard, which is native to Africa, is possibly the heaviest bird capable of flight. It further says that the male averages about 110 cm in length, stands

60-90 cm tall and has a wingspan of about 230-275 cm. The female averages 5.7 kg and is usually 20 percent shorter than the male. There is no doubt that since the bird is heavy and therefore a poor flier, this makes it easy prey for predators.  According to Kabelo Senyatso, the director of BirdLife Botswana, in the country, they consider the bird to be a threatened species although globally, the bird is not in the red.