300 OTHXE OTIS 



The following are recorded localities : Cape Colony Cape Flats 

 near Cape Town (S. A. Mus.), Little Namaqualand (Howard), 

 Beaufort West (Layard), Deelfontein, July (Seimund), Orange 

 Eiver near Upington (Bradshaw), Sunday Eiver in Uitenhage 

 division (Berlin Mus.), Frankfurt Flats near King William's Town, 

 July to November (Trevelyan), near East London, January (Wood) ; 

 Natal Nottingham Eoad and Ladysmith (Woodward), near New- 

 castle (Butler) ; Transvaal Barberton (Kendall), near Potchefstroom 

 (Ayres) . 



Habits. Little is known about the habits of this bird. Ayres 

 was shown a breeding place, about thirty miles from Potchef- 

 stroom on the top of a low, stony range of hillocks. The eggs, two 

 in number, were laid on the bare ground without any pretence of a 

 nest. While Ayres was resting close to the nest the hen bird lay 

 crouched on the ground within ten yards of him, but he could not 

 see it, even when his companion, a Hottentot, pointed it out to 

 him. The bird was subsequently shot by the Hottentot. 



An egg in the South African Museum, taken by Mr. J. Bankers 

 at Zoetendals vlei in the Bredasdorp division, is an even oval of a 

 pale olive-green ground colour, rather faintly streaked with purplish 

 and yellowish-brown. It measures 2-90 x 2-15. 



Mr. Wood tells me that this is the only Bustard which visits the 

 neighbourhood of East London, and that it does not come every 

 year. In January, 1898, he saw two flocks close to the coast, each 

 containing about a score of birds. They were very wary, but a 

 pair was secured eventually, which proved to be very fat. 



Dr. Howard writes to me that these birds arrive in Namaqua- 

 land about the end of May or early in June, and leave again about 

 November or even December ; they are usually seen in flocks of 

 from eight to twenty birds, and feed about the plains in the morn- 

 ing ; during the middle of the day they fly to broken, hillocky 

 ground and rest, returning to the plains again about 3.30 p.m. 

 where they search for beetles and caterpillars, which form the bulk 

 of their food. They fly heavily and apparently slowly, but can 

 cover space marvellously quickly with their long sustained flight. 



696. Otis cafra. Stanley Bustard or Veld Paauw. 



Otis cafra, Lichtenst., Cat. Eer. Nat. Hamb. p. 36 (1773) ; Sharpe, ed. 

 Layard's B. S. Afr. p. 634 (1884) ; Nicolls <& Eglington, Sportsm. 

 S. Afr. p. 114, fig. 41 (1892) ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 185 (1896) ; 

 Millais, Breath from the Veldt, 2nd ed., p. 53 (1899) ; Reichenow, 

 Vog. Afr. i, p. 244 (1900). 



