NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. ileal 
ments. The hair-like plumage is of a light ashen colour, while 
the breast and thighs are white. The height of an adult bird 
is about five feet. The wing feathers are large, out-curved and 
fluffy white. Commercially these feathers are not as valuable as 
the plumes of the ostrich, yet many thousands of Rheas are killed 
annually, and as the young are not easily reared in captivity, it 
seems certain that the group will soon become extinct. 
Several females unite in depositing their eggs, to a total num- 
ber of twenty to sixty, in a single large depression in the soil. 
As with the other birds of this group, the male takes upon him- 
self the entire labour of incubation and the rearing of the young 
birds. When fresh the eggs are golden-yellow in colour, but they 
soon fade to a dull whitish. When the maie birds indulge in 
combats for supremacy over the females, they twine their necks 
together, and bite and kick quite savagely. 
The Indians of the pampas hunt the Rhea on horseback, and 
capture it by means of the bolas—two leaden balls connected by 
a strip of rawhide, eight or ten feet in length. This is skillfully 
thrown from a distance of as much as fifty yards. The strand 
wraps about the neck and legs of the bird, hurling it helpless to 
the ground. 
The general mien of the Rhea is stately, and its actions are 
easy and graceful. They are gentle birds in captivity, and are 
easily tamed, especially if they are captured when young. The 
Rhea will probably be the first of the four large ostrich-like birds 
to be exterminated by man, the emeu coming next. 
MEE TOS PRUGH: 
The greatest of all living birds is the African Ostrich, a full- 
grown male standing eight feet and easily reaching to a height of 
nine feet. The maximum weight of such a bird is about three 
hundred pounds. 
In the matter of vision, the Ostrich is the very antithesis of 
the apteryx, and its great height enables it to command an ex- 
tensive view. On the other hand, in power of scent it is very 
deficient. These facts result in a reciprocal friendship between 
these birds and herds of zebras and antelopes. Should an enemy 
creep up through cover of clumps of grass, the keen nostrils of 
the four-footed creatures give timely warning; while in a more 
open country, when there is no wind, the eves of the giant birds 
unerringly search out the distant foe. 
The Ostrich was well known to the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt, 
