.230 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



In South Africa the ostrich is taken in another way by 

 a singular and amusing stratagem. The hunter dresses 

 himself in the skin of an ostrich, perfect in plumage, and 

 with the neck and head held aloft by a slender rod ; in 

 this accoutrement, which also hides a carbine, the hunter 

 approaches his quarry, perhaps a troop of many birds. 

 At sight of the stranger the whole bunch hastens to inspect 

 4iirh, and is received with bullets instead of other welcome ; 

 the skin is cast off, and the deception is disclosed too late 

 for their good. It is not always the feather that makes 

 the bird. 



The ostrich is the wealth of the Somali country of the 

 eastern coast, where the natives capture the birds, not to 

 kill them, but to rob them of their plumes, employing a 

 curious ingenuity. In the pathway of the ostrich the 

 hunter scatters small gourds, of which it is very fond, and 

 then awaits results. The bird greedily swallows the 

 doctored fruit, and if successful in getting more than its 

 share becomes so stupefied that it is soon lying upon the 

 sand with feet tied together and entirely helpless. De- 

 prived of its priceless feathers, it is then released, to grow 

 another crop for the year to come. It is more like harvest- 

 ing than hunting, as when the people of the north capture 

 and pluck the eider-ducks for their down. 



It is well known that ostriches have a remarkable habit 

 of dancing, in which they s.eem to find great pleasure. 

 With the rising of the sun they begin, in close groups, a 

 regular swinging step, as if engaged in an awkward 

 imitation of the waltz. Presently the step is quickened, 

 and the movement accelerated, until the huge birds, 

 crowding together with wildly swaying heads and necks, 

 .whirling madly in a maelstrom of motion erratic to the 

 last degree, are as if caught in the maddened rush of a 

 cyclone's power. Not infrequently in these dances some 

 of the birds suffer the breaking of their limbs, paying thus 

 the fatal penalty of their reckless passion for this strange 

 amusement. It is known that the habit of dancing in the 

 solitary desert wastes of Africa costs the lives of 10 per 



