THE 



aAME-BIRDS AND WATEE-FOWL 

 OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



OTIS KORI. 



KORI BUSTAED. 



OB> Sl'NNT Bustard. 



(Plate 1.) 



Otis kori, Burchell, Trav. S. Afr., i, pp. 393-492 (1822) ; Sharpe's ed. 

 Layard Birds of S. Afr., p. 632 (1875-84) ; NicoUs & EgKngton, 

 Sportsman in S. Afr., p. 112 (1892) ; Reichenow, Vogel Afrikas, 

 I, p. 242 (1900-01) ; Sclater, Ann. S. Afr. Mus., m, p. 357 (1905) ; 

 Sclater & Stark, Birds S. Afr., iv, p. 308 (1906). 



Ewpodotis kori, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xxni, p. 324 (1894) ; 

 Woodward, Natal Birds, p. 178 (1899). 



Local Names. — " Gom-Paauw " (i.e. Gum Peacock, because it is said 

 to feed on gum found on mimosa trees) ; " Isemi " of Kaffirs 

 generally ; " Kori " of Bechuanas (Burchell). 



Desckiption. Length of a male 56 in. and of a female 44 in. They 

 have been shot weighing up to 50 lb., but the heaviest I have 

 ever weighed was 35 lb., and he was a huge bird. The sexes 

 are aUke, except that there is an enormous discrepancy in size 

 between them. The bird figured is a female. 



DiSTEiBTJTiON. Generally distributed all over South Africa in 

 suitable localities. It is essentially a bird of the wide, open 

 flats, where it can see far in every direction. 



Its range extends as far as Southern Angola on the west, and it 

 is also found in Central Africa, and East Africa as far north as 

 Somaliland. 



It is migratory, and much more plentiful in some years than 

 in others. 



On the edge of the Kalahari Desert west of Vryburg, it is 

 common at the beginning of the winter (May and June). 



The " Gom-Paauw " is not rare in suitable localities, and 

 is generally to be found stalking about on open plains dotted 



