154 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



he was sure to be buffeted by a rival, until one or 

 other retired. I wished to obtain photographs, and, 

 alighting, crept forward with the camera. The birds 

 became restless, but did not retire; on the contrary, 

 as soon as my head disappeared beneath the focussing 

 cloth they advanced. I followed their movements as 

 reflected on the ground glass, and found it necessary 

 more than once to suspend operations. My com- 

 panions in the buggy were unkind enough to laugh at 

 my discomfiture, but in the end I managed to get the 

 pictures desired. Here and there we noticed piles of 

 "Ostrich food" crushed stone. The birds, of course, 

 do not subsist on such hard fare; grass is their prin- 

 cipal food on the farms, and it is said that one Ostrich 

 will consume nearly as much green stuff as a bullock. 

 Fragments of stone and other indigestible matter are 

 swallowed, to aid in the trituration of real food. Mr. 

 Bowman told us many interesting facts regarding the 

 breeding habits of the Ostrich. The males become 

 savage as the pairing season approaches, and combats 

 between rivals are of common occurrence. During 

 this period the birds are dangerous to human beings. 

 Each male forms a harem, and several hen birds lay in 

 a single nest. A nest that we saw on the station con- 

 tained over forty eggs, some of which were embedded 

 in the sandy soil. No fewer than sixty-four eggs 

 were counted in another nest. Both sexes brood in 

 fairly regular shifts. 



It was interesting to see Ostriches and Emus in 

 company, as we did at Campbell Park. Unfortunately, 

 there were few of the Australian birds. The Emu 

 appears to be doomed, whereas the number of 

 Ostriches in Australia is increasing. 



Learning that Black Swans had started to nest, 

 we drove to the reed beds, some miles from Campbell 

 House. The water was cold, and fairly deep where the 

 reeds grew, and the native stockman was asked to locate 

 a nest, if possible, in the thicket nearest to dry land. 



