Ratite or Struthious Birds 13 



probing the ground with an iron rod that the bones were 

 not scattered over the whole area, but were confined to a 

 comparatively small and narrow space, not exceeding 

 thirty yards in length. Yet, on digging down to this queer 

 sepulchre, remains of no less than six hundred Moas of all 

 sizes were discovered, as well as those of Geese, Ducks, 

 Birds of Prey, and other birds : so that, even if some 

 unforeseen catastrophe had overwhelmed this herd of 

 flightless Moas, the presence of birds of such strong flight 

 as Ducks and Hawks is still unaccounted for. It seems 

 certain that the Moas survived until comparatively recent 

 times, as remains of the skin of the feet and actual 

 feathers of the birds have been discovered. Although of 

 such size and massiveness that some of them out-topped 

 our Ostriches in height, the wings were certainly vestigial, 1 

 even if they were developed at all. 



The Ratitce which survive at the present day are all 

 birds of considerable size, some of them, like the Ostriches, 

 being gigantic. The latter birds are easily separated from 

 the other forms by their having only two toes, nor have they 

 any " after-shaft " to the body-feathers. This "after-shaft," 

 as it is called, has the appearance of a duplicate of the 

 main feather, and springs from the inner surface of the 

 base of the same quill. In most birds it is very small, and 

 is often absent altogether, but in some of the Ratite birds 

 it is strongly developed and acquires the same length as 

 the shaft of the main feather. This is the case in the 

 Emeus, Cassowaries, and Moas, which thus appear to be 

 clothed with double feathers. The Emeus (Dromaida] are 

 entirely Australian, and are inhabitants of the open 

 country, from many parts of which they have now been 

 exterminated. They have no visible wings and tail, both 



1 The wings in the Ratite Birds are often spoken of as "rudimentary," 

 but as they are really the remains of what were once well-developed 

 organs, I prefer to speak of them as " vestigial." 



