STRUTHIONID^. 251 



STEUTHIONES. 



STRUTHIONIDiE. 



298. Struthio australis, Gurney. South-African Ostrich. 

 The Ostrich, Audersson's Lake Ngami, pi. 7. 

 Struthio camelus, Layard's Cat. No. 539. 

 Struthio australis, Gurney, in Ibis, 1868, p. 253. 

 Struthio camelus (part.), Fiuscli & Hartlaub's Vogel Ost-Afrika's, 

 p. 597. 



Many naturalists are of opinion that the North- 

 African Ostrich is distinct from that of South Africa ; but, 

 from an early date in my wanderings, I suspected that 

 there was more than one species of Ostrich indigenous 

 to Southern Africa, though it was only in 1866 that I 

 had the means and the necessary time to verify my 

 surmises. 



I am now able to state that there are two distinct 

 kinds of Ostrich in Damara Land. The first species is 

 that which is so well known throughout Southern Africa, 

 in which the male bird is black with white tail and 

 wings, whilst the female is of a greyish colour. Of the 

 second species, which is quite new to science, I have 

 not an entire specimen by me so as to enable me to 

 produce an accurate description of the whole bird : still 

 I possess sufficient data to be able to vouch for the 

 correctness of my statement ; for, as I write, three skins 

 (or rather portions of skins) are lying before me, con- 



