CURSORES. 387 



proach the settlements, trampling down grain and eating it. Do 

 mesticated, they are quiet, dull and heavy looking; in their na 

 tive haunts they are restless, wary and difficult of approach. 

 The senses of touch, taste, smell, and hearing are in these, as 

 also in the other birds of the family, strongly developed. The 

 eye is well formed ; the sight is piercing, so that the Ostrich has 

 a wide range of vision, and can discover danger at a considerable 

 distance. 



THE AMERICAN OSTRICH, Rhea Americana, (the Nhandu Gua- 

 cu of the Brazilians,)prominently differs from the Ostrich of the 

 Old World, in having three toes, all furnished with claws, and in 

 its smaller size, being only about half as large as the African 

 bird ; it is also thinly covered with feathers. It has the same 

 propensity for swallowing iron, stones, &c., as the Ostrich of the 

 East. Haunting the banks of rivers, it runs so swiftly and cun 

 ningly as not only to evade the pursuit of dogs, but the weapons 

 of the natives. These birds, like other ostriches, lay their eggs 

 in the sand. &quot; The* males,&quot; it is said, &quot; sedulously perform the 

 office of incubation.&quot; The natives pursue them on horseback, and 

 kill them by throwing the &quot; bolas,&quot; or leathern thong, loaded at the 

 end with a heavy stone or leaden ball. The Rhea frequently 

 swims across rivers several hundred feet in width, thus exceed 

 ing the powers of the Ostrich and Cassowary. It feeds upon 

 flesh and fruits, and upon the small fishes which are washed 

 upon the sand ; its flesh is said to equal that of geese and swans, 

 and it is easily tamed. 



A second (smaller) species, R. Danvinii, has been discovered 

 in Patagonia, but it is rare. 



The CASSOWARY, Casuarius Casoar, (or Emeu,) is a native of 

 the Eastern part of Asia. Its wings are shorter than those of the 

 Ostrich, and quite useless in aiding progression ; the head is 

 surmounted with a bony prominence, covered with a horny sub 

 stance; the skin of the head and upper part of the neck is naked, 

 tinged with cerulean blue and flame color, and has wattles like 

 those of a turkey; the feathers are composed of two long, thread 

 like ones, proceeding from the same root and having the appear 

 ance of hair; the wing feathers are round, black and strong, and 

 resemble the quills of a porcupine. At the end of the last joint 

 of the wing is a sort of spur. This bird, next in size to the Os 

 trich, when erect and five feet in height, resembles the latter bird 

 in its general form and aspect, (Plate X. fig. 7,) but differs from 

 it in its digestive organs. The Cassowary lays a small number 

 of green eggs, which it leaves to be hatched by the heat of the 

 climate. Its food &quot; consists of vegetable substances, and it will 



