306 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



Rivers, francolins, guinea-fowl, sand-grouse, quails, 

 and bustards flourish in extraordinary plenty, and 

 among the bustards stands pre-eminent the great 

 Kori bustard the gom paauw of the Dutch colonists 

 the Otis kori of Dr. Burchell, one of the earliest 

 and most scientific of the old Cape travellers. This 

 noble bird, ranging as it does in weight from twenty- 

 five to forty pounds and even more, is of itself 

 sufficient, whether from its merits as a table bird, or 

 from its sport-giving qualities, to provide a reputation 

 for an entire Colony. But this, somehow or other, 

 is not the case, and the game birds of the Cape are, 

 even among the colonists themselves, by no means 

 so sought after as their sporting merits would lead 

 one to expect. It is certain that in this country the 

 whole group are almost unknown, save to the 

 naturalist. Chief among the reasons for this apparent 

 neglect is, I imagine, the fact that hitherto the 

 antelopes and larger game have to a great extent 

 dwarfed and set aside, in the average sportsman's 

 view, this exceptionally large and varied class of 

 birds. 



The Boer has never taken any notice whatever 

 of the splendid table birds that have their habitat 

 within his borders, excepting always the kori bustard, 

 and perhaps an occasional koorhaan (another of the 

 bustards), which he can secure with a bullet from 

 his rifle now and again. But the Boer will some 

 day in the distant future awaken to the discovery 

 that antelopes are not so plentiful as they once 

 were ; and he may then deign to turn to the 

 francolins and bustards that lie ready to his hand. 

 In the meantime, it is perhaps just as well for the 

 British settlers that the Cape Dutch have not taken 



