@Zoo Tycooner FR I'm out of my depth with bustard ID. Unfortunately with a quick google I can't find any references on the web to any bustards at the Bronx to ID it definitely. What characters would you be looking for with each species? Should have other photos to help ID it.
One of the main thing that strikes me when identifying birds (I'm not saying this is a great criterion for that, I'm just saying that's what my brain weirdly focuses on) is the eye colour. Buff-crested bustard have very pale, nearly white eyes, with a black pupil while black-bellied bustards have brown eyes.
The plumage fits perfectly with Buff-crested bustard too, brownish wings with dark spots, a dark belly and a fully sand brown head while Black-bellied bustards tend to have grayish heads with a white spot
Finally, there are a few zoos in America with Buff-crested bustard such as Philadelphia (I don't know if they have them anymore) and according to this site, Staten Island Zoo used to keep them so they could've exchanged birds or something (I don't really know how it works ):
@ThylacineAlive@Zoo Tycooner FR
Brilliant, thanks, I'll get the name changed. Eye colour will be something to keep an eye on in future. Cracking species either way, only saw the one whilst I was there, fingers crossed it does well.
Ed. or not because I can't edit it... If a mod sees this I'd really appreciate a hand changing it!
