264 TRAVELS IN 
part of the thighs and its long tall are of a deep chefnut color, 
and the ears are much fhorter than in the others. Cape par- 
tridges and the Hamaaqua grous were equally plentiful. The 
latter is a gregarious bird, and was met with in large coveys 
near all the fprings of water. They were fo little intimidated 
at the approach of our people, that they fulFered themfelves to 
be knocked down with whips and fticks. A new fpecies of 
korhaen or buftard was feen here, that appeared to be fome- 
thing like the tetrix or French field-duck, but it was fo very 
wild and fcarce that not one of them could be fhot. The 
Egyptian black ibis {niger,) and another fpecies of tantalus^ 
called by the farmers the haddadas^ were procured at this place. 
The latter uttered the moft horrid fcreams that can be imagined. 
The beak is black ; the ridge of the upper mandible, and the 
upper part of the toes, red ; head, neck, and abdomen, cinereous 
blue ; wing and tail feathers, deep violet blue j back feathers 
green, edged with dufky brown ; fhoulders and covering fea- 
thers of the wings of a metallic luftre and iridefcent. The 
mountain goofe, the Egyptian goofe, and the mountain duck, 
were feen in confiderable numbers. The laft anfwers to the 
defcrlption of the cana; but there is a miftake in giving the 
white head to the male, which is found only in the female. 
Several other aquatic birds were met with about the Sea-Cow 
river, attraded thither by the vaft quantities of fifh that it con- 
tained. Of thefe a fpecies of cyprinus of a filvery color was the 
moft common ; and we caught alfo a fpecies of filurus. The 
moft remarkable of the birds were the platalea leucorodia, or 
white fpoonbill, the great white pelican, and the flamingo. 
We 
