422 LARGE GAME. chap. ix. 



its mate to come and suck their neighbours' cows, while it 

 is curious that we should know it as the " goat-sucker." 

 It is to be found, on the coast chiefly, in the long grass 

 and scrub at the edge of thickets ; and if such of my 

 readers who may have the opportunity will only shoot 

 one and taste it, I feel sure that they will not regret the 

 experiment. 



The common Cape lark (Anthus Capensis) is the next 

 bird to which I would draw attention. It is capital 

 eating, and has so strong a game-scent that the best 

 pointer will scarcely pass it ; and though they are small, 

 yet being so very common, they are not altogether to be 

 despised, even for the purposes of sport. Hundreds may 

 be shot to points on any of the plains, and to a lesser 

 degree on the more wooded coast-lands also. 



Last, though by no means least in size, is the great 

 crested crane, the Unohemu (Balearica pavonina). It is 

 very large, second only to some of the bustards in size, 

 and possesses the most beautiful plumage imaginable ; its 

 crest alone, of bristles marked with black and yellow bars 

 standing out from a mass of the most glossy velvet down, 

 flanked with white lobes, would be sufficiently noteworthy 

 were the plumage of the rest of the body commonplace, 

 and not, as it is, especially on the wings, extremely beauti- 

 ful. It is a very shy and far from common bird, inhabit- 

 ing the treeless districts, and seldom seen except in pairs, 

 though I have come across small flocks of five or six; 

 they may sometimes be heard on the uplands uttering 

 the cry from which they take their name as they make 

 for their roosting-place, and they are most often seen 

 about autumn in the maize and millet fields, but if one 



