THE OOLOGIST. 



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Death of E. L. Hudnut. — We are 

 called upon to record the death, after a brief 

 illness, with pneumonia, of a bright young 

 naturalist, Mr. E. L. Hudnut, of Orange, 

 New Jersey. He was well known to col- 

 lectors of birds' eggs, and was deeply inter- 

 ested in his collection, which had attained 

 a size equalled by few with his experience 

 in this country. 



The Nandou, or South American 

 Ostrich (Rhea americana). 



BY F. J. DAVIS. 



HILST from time immemorial the 

 African Ostrich has been written 

 about and all of its minutest habits 

 searched out, comparatively little has been 

 written about the bird uader consideration 

 in this article. For much of the following 

 I am indebted to Mr. Darwin, in his writ- 

 ings of journeys in South America. This 

 bird abounds on the La Plata plains, and 

 north as far as Paraguay, south to about 

 43*^. It is a voracious eater, taking fruits, 

 vegetables, and devouring flies, of which it 

 is fond ; it also catches small tish. Sever- 

 al birds will occupy one nest, the number 

 of eggs found together numbering from for- 

 ty to fifty and sometimes even more. The 

 male undertakes the incubation, attending 

 the young some time after they are hatched. 

 At Bahia Blanca, says the naturalist, the 

 eggs were fomid in extraordinary numbers, 

 either laying scattered singly, in which case 

 they are not hatched and are called Jtaiichus 

 by the Spaniards, or collected together iu a 

 shallow excavation which forms the nest. 

 Of four nests observed, three contained 



twenty-two eggs and one twenty-seven. In 

 one day's hunting ou horseback, sixty-four 

 eggs were discovered ; of these, two nests 

 contained forty-four, and twenty were scat- 

 tered haucJios. 



The scattering of the eggs by the female 

 is a very peculiar habit. Some have said 

 that it was done for the purpose of furnish- 

 ing food for the young, but this can hardly 

 be so, for the eggs are usually found whole, 

 though addled. The Nandou is about five 

 feet five inches or a little more in height, 

 when standing. Its color is grayish-brown 

 mingled with black, and lighter below ; the 

 female is smaller and of lighter color. The 

 bird is rarely seen in this country or Eu- 

 rope, but the plumes are imported and used 

 to make dusting brushes for delicate pur- 

 poses. The plumes are lonjj and slender, 

 and the quill feathers white. These birds 

 swim readily although slowly, for consider- 

 able distances, as also will the Emeu of 

 Australia, The male utters a sort of deep 

 toned hiss. Mr. Darwin thought it some 

 wild beast when he first heai'd it. One can 

 not tell whence it comes or how far away 

 it is. In its habits it is shy and wary ; it 

 is very fleet of foot and usually prefers run- 

 ning against the wind. When they start, 

 they spread their wings as if to sail. The 

 flesh is much esteemed by the Indians and 

 Guachos ; I do not know whether a white 

 man ever passed judgment upon it or not. 

 Altliough this bird is extremely fleet of foot 

 it is caught frequently by the Guachos. 

 These men, mounted on their horses with 

 their bolas and hunting knives by their 

 sides, are the ti'ue kings of the Pampas. 

 When only four years old, they mount their 

 hoi'ses and ride hither and thither at a reck- 

 less pace, caring for and fearing nothing ; 

 the bird or animal that would escape them 

 must indeed, be fleet and wary. The bo- 

 las which the Guaclio uses in capturing the 

 Nandou, as well as his horses and cattle, 

 consists of long thongs of leather with stones 

 attached securely to each end, and in liis 

 skillful hands is a very effective weapon. 

 Mr. Darwin gives a very interesting ac- 

 count of the manner of hunting this bird, 



