THE 



GAME-BIRDS and WATER-FOWL 

 OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



OTIS KORI. 



KORI BUSTARD. 



(Plate 1.) 



Otis kori, Burchell, Trav. S. Afr., i, pp. 393-492 (1822) ; Sharpe's ed, 

 Layard Birds of S. Afr., p. 632 (1875-84) ; Nicolls & EgUngton, 

 Sportsman in S. Afr., p. 112 (1892) ; Reichenow, Vogel Afrikas, 

 I, p. 242 (1900-01) ; Sclater, Ann. S. Afr. Mus., m, p. 357 (1905) ; 

 Sclater & Stark, Birds S. Afr., iv, p. 308 (1906). 



Eupodotis kori, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xxni, p. 324 (1894) ; 

 Woodward, Natal Birds, p. 178 (1899). 



Local Names. — " Gom-Paauw " (i.e. Gum Peacock, because it is 

 said to feed on gum found on mimosa trees) ; " Isemi " of 

 Kaffirs generally ; " Kori " of Bechuanas (Burchell). 



Description. Length of a male 56 in. and of a female 44 in. They 

 have been shot weighing up to 50 lb., but the heaviest I have 

 ever weighed was 35 lb., and he was a huge bird. The sexes 

 are ahke, except that there is an enormous discrepancy in size 

 between them. The bird figured is a female. 



Distribution. Generally distributed all over South Africa in 

 suitable locaUties. It is essentially a bird of the wide, 

 open flats, where it can see far in every direction. 



Its range extends as far as Southern Angola on the west, and 

 it is also found in Central Africa, and East Africa as far north 

 as Somahland. 



It is migratory, and much more plentiful in some years than 

 in others. 



On the edge of the Kalahari Desert west of Vryburg, it is 

 common at the beginning of the winter (May and June). 



The " Gom-Paauw " is not rare in suitable localities, and 

 is generally to be found stalking about on open plains dotted 



