170 SOME BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA 



upon the ground, in this way luring you from their 

 young ones. 



The town of Knysna itself stands nearly opposite 

 the Heads, but there is a broad expanse of water, at 

 least two miles in width, separating the two places. On 

 either side of the Heads is a low ridge of hills, which, 

 sloping down on the landward side, ends abruptly as it 

 faces the sea, and forms the cliffs which guard the 

 coast. To reach the Heads from Knysna in any way 

 other than by water, it is necessary to follow the road 

 which skirts the estuary on its left bank, thus making a 

 considerable dttour. While driving along this road, 

 one or two farms are passed through in which Ostriches 

 are bred ; these birds will sometimes stray on to the 

 road and run along in front of the cart for some little 

 distance, their heavy bodies seeming too weighty for 

 their comparatively slender legs. They have an odd 

 way of turning their small heads from side to side as 

 they run, looking back at the cart which follows them. 

 The male Ostriches are occasionally very savage in the 

 breeding season, a kick from one of these birds, which 

 is delivered in front, and not behind, being sometimes 

 fatal. When I was staying with Mr. R., in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the Knysna Lakes, he told me that his 

 nurse was out one day with one of his young children 

 on the farm, when an Ostrich attacked her ; fortunately 

 she was used to their ways, and threw the child into a 

 thick bush while she herself called out for help and took 

 refuge in a similar situation. Out in the open, it would 

 have been a serious matter for both her and the child, 

 the only thing to do in such a case, being to lie down 

 flat on the ground, when the Ostrich will trample on 



