PllO AVES— OSTRICH. 



a black bill, which is not above two inches long; but what distinguishes it 

 in particular is a horn growing from the forehead as long as the bill, arid 

 bending forward like that of the fabulous unicorn of the ancients. This 

 horn is not much thicker than a crow-quill, as round as if turned in a lathe, 

 and of an ivory color. But this is not the only instrument of battle this 

 formidable bird carries ; it seems to be armed at all points; for at the fore- 

 part of each wing, at the second joint, spring two straight triangular spurs, 

 about as thick as one's little finger ; the foremost of these goads or spurs is 

 above an inch long ; the hinder is shorter, and both of a dusky color. The 

 claws also are long and sharp ; the color is a mixed black, gray, and white, 

 with a little yellow in some places ; and they make a very loud noise, often 

 repeating the notes wyhu, wyhu. They are never found alone, but always in 

 pairs; the cock and hen prowl together ; and their fidelity is said to be such, 

 that when one dies, the other never departs from the carcass, but dies with 

 its companion. It makes its nest of clay, near the bodies of trees, upon the 

 ground, of the shape of an oven. There is another species of screamer, 

 which is crested and without the horn. 



ORDER XII.— CURSORE S. 



Birds of this order have the bill middle sized, or short ; legs long, naked 

 above the knee ; and with only two or three toes, directed forward. These 

 birds live always in the fields, and most frequently in desart places remote 

 from woods. 



THE OSTRICH* 



Is generally considered as the largest of birds, but its size serves to deprive 

 it of the principal excellence of this class of animals, the power of flying. 

 The medium weight of this bird may be estimated at seventy-five or eighty 

 pounds, a weight which would require an immense power of wing to elevate 

 into the atmosphere ; and hence all those of the feathered kind which ap- 

 proach to the size of the ostrich, such as the touyou, the cassowary, the 

 dodo, neither possess, nor can possess, the faculty of flight. The head and 

 bill of the ostrich somewhat resemble those of the duck ; and the neck may 

 be compared to that of a swan, but that it is much longer; the legs and 

 thighs resemble those of a hen ; though the whole appearance at a distance 

 bears a strong resemblance to that of a camel; it is usually seven feet high 



1 Struthio cavichts, Lin. This is the only one of the genus. Its characteristics are — 

 a bill obtuse, straight, depressed at the tip, which is rounded and unguiculated ; mandi- 

 bles equal and flexible ; nostrils near the middle of the bill ; legs very long, robust, and 

 muscular, with only two strong toes directed forward, but the inner much shorter than the 

 outer; the former provided with a large and blunt claw, the latter clawiess ; tibia very 

 fleshy to the knee ; wings unfit for flight, being composed of long, soft, and flexible fea- 

 thers, and armed with a double spur. 



