A medium-sized, drab, gray-brown bustard with a plain face and black throat patch. Creamy wing patches are displayed in flight. Small groups prefer semi-arid Karoo and barren farmland, where they feed on plants and small animals. During the heat of the day it retreats to drainage lines, where they shelter under thicker cover. Often first detected by its dry, throaty, frog-like two-or-three-syllabled “kraak-krook” or “kraak-krook-kook” calls, which are sometimes echoed by other group members, creating a choral cacophony. Vocal in the morning and late afternoon.