THE OSTRICHES 2329 



pure glistening white; the neck in both sexes being clothed with short down. A 

 peculiarity of the feathers of the wings and tail is that their two webs are of equal 

 width. The young, like those of all the other members of the group, are active as 

 soon as hatched; and the eggs are polished and pale yellowish white in color; those 

 from North Africa being transversed by a number of minute punctures, while those 

 from the Cape are smoother. Finally, the male is far superior in size to his partner. 

 There is still some uncertainty whether there is more than a single species of 

 ostrich, although it is well known that the kind inhabiting Somaliland and East 

 Africa differs from the more ordinary type, which is now confined to Africa, Arabia, 

 Syria, and Mesopotamia. In the latter (Struthio camelus) the color of the naked 

 skin of the neck and thighs is reddish; whereas in the Somali ostrich (S. molybdo- 

 phanes) it is bluish, and there is a conspicuous red patch on the front of the meta- 

 tarsus. It is, however, probable that these slight variations indicate local races 

 rather than distinct species. In regard to the dimensions attained by ostriches, 

 it may be mentioned that an unusually fine male from the Niger basin, measured 

 four feet ten inches in height at the back, and had a total length of four feet three 

 inches. Ordinary examples of the same sex reach only about three feet eight inches 

 in height. 



Although now confined to Africa, Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, 



L and becoming every year scarcer in the three last-mentioned coun- 

 and Habits . 



tries, there is a probability that ostriches formerly existed within 



the historic period, in parts of Central Asia and possibly in Baluchistan, since there 

 are several allusions to birds which can scarcely be anything else than ostriches in 

 various ancient writings. Quite apart, however, from this, the evidence of its fossil- 

 ized remains show that an extinct species of ostrich, nearly allied to the existing 

 kind, inhabited Northwestern India during the Pliocene period, and a petrified egg 

 from the province of Cherson in Russia, points to the former existence of these birds 

 in that country. Originally it is probable that the ostrich ranged in suitable locali- 

 ties from Senegambia in the west, through Southern Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt, to 

 Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia in the east; while in the other direction it extended 

 from Algeria through Central and Eastern Africa. Being, however, essentially a 

 bird of open, sandy districts, there are many regions in Africa, such as the neighbor- 

 hood of Zanzibar and large tracts on the west coast and in the Congo valley, where, 

 owing to the prevalence of forest, the ostrich never existed. Moreover, the constant 

 persecution with which these birds have been harassed for years, on account of their 

 beautiful plumes, has led to their almost complete disappearance from Egypt and 

 Nubia, and they are now seldom found to the north of latitude 17. The ostrich 

 has also disappeared from large tracts in South Africa, although still to be met with 

 in small parties in the great Kalahari desert, and especially in the part lying to the 

 southward of Lake Ngami. It is likewise still fairly common on the borders of 

 Namaqualand and Damaraland, the great Mabebi flats, and certain parts of Mata- 

 beleland and Mashonaland, where it is sometimes seen in large flocks. 



Always inhabiting more or less desert-like districts, or flats covered with stunted 

 patches of bush, where the elevated position of their heads gives them a wide field of 

 vision, ostriches in South Africa generally associate in parties of from ten to twenty 



