A large-to-medium-sized bustard with a dull orangish nape and hind neck, and dark gray-brown fore neck and face. Female and juvenile are smaller than male and paler on the face and throat. Pairs and small groups march purposefully in open shrubland and arid woodland in the Karoo and Kalahari. It is partially nomadic within its range and can gather in groups of up to 70 individuals after good rains. The much larger Kori Bustard has a barred grayish neck. Denham’s Bustard has a pale gray fore neck, rather than the dark gray-brown fore neck of Ludwig’s Bustard.