310 



OTIDiE 



OTIS 



range extends to Southern Angola on the west, and through Central 

 and East Africa to Shoa and Somaliland on the east. 



The following are South African localities ; Cape Colony— con- 

 fluence of the Orange and Vaal Eivers, October, 1811 (Burchell 

 type). Cape division, Piquetberg and Beaufort "West (S. A. Mus.), 

 Little Namaqualand, rare (Howard), Jensenville (Bryden), Albany 

 (Trevelyan) ; Natal— Newcastle district (Butler), Upper Umkomas 

 (Woodward), St. Lucia Lake in Zululand (Woodward) ; Transvaal- 

 near Klerksdorp (Holub), Pretoria district (Distant), near Johannes- 

 burg, rare (Haagner), Lydenburg bushveld (Kirby and Eendall); 





Fig. 97. — Head of Otis kori. 



Bechuanaland — Confluence of Notuani and Limpopo (Holub), Pala- 

 pye. May (Gates), Botletli Eiver (Bryden) ; Ehodesia — Mashonaland 

 (Ayres and Marshall) ; German South-west Africa — Great Namaqua- 

 land and Damaraland to Ondonga (Andersson), Kalahari, May, 

 Eeheboth, April (Fleck). 



Habits. — This, the noblest and finest of all South African Game 

 Birds, is now becoming rather rare. It is found singly or in pairs, or 

 sometimes in small companies of three or four birds. Its favourite 

 resorts are open plains with scattered Mimosa-bush. It is specially 

 fond of a sweet gummy exudation from these trees, and has thus 

 earned its vernacular name of Gom, or Gum Paauw. It appears to 

 be partially migratory, its movements probably depending on rainfall. 

 Its flight is heavy, but rapid for so large a bird, and Andersson states 



