A474 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 
THE CONDORS. 
These great birds, the largest of all the birds of prey, inhabit the 
high mountain regions of North and South America, having their 
nests on almost inaccessible peaks. Both the Andean and the Cali- 
fornia species are seen in the park. The South American form is 
slightly the larger, but either bird is very impressive when it spreads its 
wings fully. It is interesting to see them do this on a hot day to cool 
themselves, or after a rain to dry their feathers. 
The California condor shown in plate 36 is a young bird not yet 
in full plumage. He was very playful, and delighted to untie the 
shoestrings of his keeper while his cage was being cleaned. It seems 
almost a pity to confine in a cage birds whose delight is apparently to 
wing their way through the upper air over great mountain ranges. 
The California species is nearly extinct, bemg now found only in the 
most inaccessible parts of the Sierra Nevada. It was formerly abun- 
dant throughout California and Oregon. The park is fortunate in 
possessing three specimens. They are kept by themselves in a flying 
cage. 
THE OSTRICH. 
Since the extinction of the gigantic moas of New Zealand the 
ostrich is the largest of living birds, a fine male sometimes measuring 
nearly 5 feet to the top of its back and being able to look over a 
9-foot fence, the height being due to the length of the legs and the 
neck, the size of the body not being proportional. The head is small 
and flat, with a short broad beak; the neck is practically bare of 
feathers, as are also the slender legs and muscular thighs, which natu- 
ralists have compared to those of a camel.* This undressed appear- 
ance is fully compensated, however, by the luxuriance and beauty of 
the plumage of its body and wings. In the female the color is a 
somber gray, while the male is dressed in black, with wings and tail 
bordered with snowy, glistening white. These are the feathers which 
have been prized in all countries from the earliest times. Formerly 
they were procured only from the wild bird by hunting, but to-day 
ostrich farming is a recognized industry in many places, both in this 
country and in Africa. 
The bird is a native of the deserts of Africa and Arabia, where its 
great height enables it to descry its enemies at a great distance, and 
its long legs and peculiar feet, especially adapted for traveling in 
sand, usually outdistance its pursuers. A wise hunter while pursuing 
on one horse will place a relay at a point at right angles to the course, 
as it is known that the bird will travel in a large circle. When 
finally exhausted the bird tries to hide in a shadow, with its tall head 
concealed behind a projecting rock, which is probably the origin of 
the fable concerning his hiding his head in the sand. This and other 
