Talk:Kori bustard

Latest comment: 4 years ago by 2620:0:1045:18:7160:6E50:4F33:28C4 in topic The figures for the kori bustard's wingspan are incorrect

The figures for the kori bustard's wingspan are incorrect edit

Hi,

I am one of the editors of the BBC Earth website, and was responsible for this story on the largest flying animals: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160506-the-biggest-animals-that-ever-flew-are-long-extinct

We mentioned the kori bustard as having a wingspan of up to 75cm. Several users have since written in to say that they think this is wrong. They all cited the Wikipedia article, which gives much larger estimates of "230 to 275 cm" for males and "177 to 220 cm" for females.

Our original source was http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ardeotis_kori/, which is based on the primary scientific literature and is generally authoritative.

When the complaints began we went to an independent expert: Sara Hallager, curator of birds at the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, who is also the International Studbook keeper for captive-bred kori bustards. Her website is http://www.si.edu/researchstudy/Staffhp/HallagerS.htm. She confirms that our figure is correct.

On this basis I'm convinced that the Wikipedia figure is wrong. It is not referenced on the page and I haven't been able to find a source for it in the scientific literature, so I'm afraid I can't offer any information about where it might have come from.

Best, Michael c marshall (talk) 08:38, 31 May 2016 (UTC)Reply

Hi, 2.5 years later, I've incorporated this information into the article. Thanks Michael! 2620:0:1045:18:7160:6E50:4F33:28C4 (talk) 08:27, 21 November 2019 (UTC)Reply