How do bustards combine animal and plant foods in their diet?

Bustards are omnivores that feed opportunistically, consuming a varied diet that combines both animal and plant matter based on availability and the season.1234

Their dietary habits include:

• Animal Foods: They frequently consume insects such as grasshoppers, dung beetles, termites, locusts, and crickets. Their diet also includes other small animals, including worms, centipedes, lizards, and small mammals like mice and voles.1243
• Plant Foods: They eat a variety of plant materials, including grass, clover, seeds, leaves, flowers, and berries. In some regions, such as Africa, they have been observed consuming the gum from the trunks of Acacia trees.134
• Seasonal Variation: The composition of their diet often shifts with the seasons. For example, the great Indian bustard relies heavily on insects during the summer monsoon, while seeds become the largest portion of their diet during the coldest, driest months. Similarly, great bustards consume more plant matter as they age.23