CRANES — BUSTARDS 163 



in which are laid the eggs, three to rive in number. These are incubated 

 alternately by each parent ; and when the young become too large for the upper 

 one they are transferred to the middle chamber, the lower compartment being 

 then used as a kind of sentinel-box. 



Another member of the group is the Abdim stork (Abdimia sphenorhyncha), 

 of which the plumage is brownish black above and white below, while the shortness 

 of the legs distinguishes it from other storks. The jabiru storks (Xenorhynchus) 

 and the marabou storks or adjutants (Leptoptilxis) are well represented in 

 Ethiopian Africa, as are likewise spoonbills and ibises. In the former group the 

 white spoonbill (Platalea alba) is restricted to tropical Africa and Madagascar ; 

 while in the latter three genera, each represented by a single species, namely, 

 the South African Geronticus calvus, the equatorial Hagidashia hagedash, and 

 the West African Lampribis vara, are exclusively Ethiopian. 



Among the cranes, or Gruidas, the crowned cranes (Balearica) 



are exclusively Ethiopian, and are represented by the typical 



crowned crane (B. pavonina), ranging from West to North-east and Equatorial 



Africa, the South African Kafir crane (B. chrysojoelargus or regidorum), which 



extends as far north as the Zambesi, and the East African B. gibbericeps. 



The Stanley crane (Grus [Tetrapteryx] paradisea) represents by itself a sub- 

 genus, or genus, confined to southern Africa, and distinguished by the long primaries 

 and lancet-shaped throat-feathers, the crown of the head being white. A second 

 subgeneric type, with this one species, is formed by the great wattled crane (G. 

 [Bugeranus] carunculata), characterised by having a, pair of feathered flaps of skin 

 pendant from the chin, the upper-parts being grey with white on the sides of the 

 head, and the whole of the throat and under-parts black. The range of this species 

 extends from South Africa along the east coast to Shoa and Somaliland. 



In the bustard family (Otididce) the genera Otis and Tetrax are 

 Bustards. . . , 



unrepresented in Ethiopian Africa, but Eupodotis, already referred 



to in Chapter I., extends to East and South Africa, where the great kori bustard 



(E. cori), the ghaum-paauw — i.e. gum-peacock — of the Boers, is still sometimes met 



with on the karu-velt to the south of the Orange River, and in Northern Cape 



Colony, but is abundant in the Transvaal, Bechuanaland, and Damaraland, whence 



its range extends northwards to the Zambesi. The large, backwardly directed 



tufts of black-tipped feathers on the head, together with its large size, render 



this magnificent bird recognisable at a glance. It takes its Boer name from its 



partiality for the gum which flows from many of the species of acacias, but it is 



almost omnivorous, feeding on locusts, beetles, lizards, small snakes, and seeds. As 



a rule, it associates in pairs, and frequents the bare, open plains, where it feeds in 



the mornings and evenings, reposing during the heat of the day beneath the shade 



of a bush. In weight it ranges from 20 to 30 or even 50 pounds. It is extremely 



shy and wary, and therefore very difficult to stalk, but is most easily approached 



when taking its midday rest. The genus Eupodotis includes five species, of which 



the collective range embraces Africa, India, and Australia. 



Six genera of bustards, namely Lophotis, Compsotis, Heterotetrax, Neotis r 



Lissotis, and Trachelotis, are exclusively Ethiopian ; the first two being represented 



by a couple of species, while the others have more. Well-known species are 



