76 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
would feed an entire family, you will understand that it 
takes both patience on the part of the parents and a great 
deal of heat to hatch these eggs. Sometimes the owners 
prefer to hatch the eggs in an incubator. 
“ You have some of you seen a Robin stand up in the nest 
and shuffle her feet; when she does this she is turning 
her eggs, and the great Ostrich eggs are also turned every 
day. When domesticated, the mother Ostrich tends the 
eggs during the day-light hours, but the father takes her 
place in the later afternoon and remains until morning. 
This is evidently the result of the instinct for colour pro- 
tection. The gray female shows the least plainly in day- 
light on the sand, while the black-and-white male can 
scarcely be seen at night. In fact, the domesticated 
bird is a creature of such regular habits that, accord- 
ing to reliable accounts, the male takes his place on the 
nest promptly at 5 p.m. and does not move until 9 a.m. 
This account does not say whether Mrs. O. lets her 
husband have an evening out once in a while to go to his 
club or lodge, but perhaps, as he has the rest of the year 
to himself, he does not expect a vacation in the important 
nesting season. But one thing is known to be true, 
that Ostriches are very devoted to each other and that 
the pairs when once mated remain together for life, an 
attribute of many birds, especially the very long-lived 
species. It is said that the wild Ostrich lives to be 100 
years old. This may be true, for Ostriches who have been 
captives 40 years are still alive and healthy. In the 
deserts Ostriches are supposed to be able to go without 
water for days at a time, but in captivity they drink 
freely every day. This either proves that the habits alter 
