332 



OSTRICHES. 



wary; when alarmed, they easily escape, their flight, which is 

 strong and swift, being at no great distance from the surface of 

 the ground. Sometimes they alight after flying a little way, and 

 run off with considerable speed until they are at a sufficient dis- 

 tance to defy pursuit. The female and young generally conceal 

 themseh^es by squatting down close among the tufts of brushwood 



The Great Bustard {Otis tarda). 



and grass. They feed on grain and seeds, and are very destructive 

 to young wheat and tops of turnips. Insects and worms also form 

 a portion of their subsistence, and sometimes they swallow small 

 quadrupeds. The females lay from two to five eggs on the bare 

 ground, under cover of the herbage. The young, as soon as they 

 are excluded, follow their parent, but for a long time are incapable 

 of flight. 



The type of this sub-family — 



The Great Bustard {Otis tarda), was formerly abundant in many parts 

 of this country, but is now quite extinct in Britain. It occurs in Germany and 



