INTELLIGENCE OF BIRD 

 AND REPTILE 



THE outstanding characteristics of the ostrich, as one 

 first sees it on the veldt, are the large muscular legs 

 that are developed to an extraordinary degree and the pole- 

 like neck, at the top of which is a small, flat head that seems 

 little larger than is necessary to carry a pair of eyes. The 

 cocks stand as high as 5 feet at the shoulder and may weigh 

 275 pounds or more. 



The ostrich is a powerful animal, whose kick can foil his 

 enemies, whose speed compares with that of the fleetest of 

 mammals, whose habitat is exclusively the open plains or 

 the bare desert, and whose eyes, placed high in a watch- 

 tower position, make him wary and difficult to approach. 

 Ostriches usually are seen in pairs or small groups, such as 

 an old cock with his harem of hens, but often one sees larger 

 groups of twenty or more males and females. Although the 

 ostrich is omnivorous, it belongs to the group of birds that 

 diligently police the veldt, picking up snakes and lizards as 

 well as berries and gravel. 



Let us analyze this largest of all birds to see how, without 

 the use of wings, it can successfully meet its competitors 

 and its enemies, the most powerful and cunning of the 

 Carnivora, such as the lion, the leopard, the cheetah, and 

 the serval cat. 



The ostrich is an eye-controlled mechanism with a 

 simple pattern of action. The ostrich needs only to see, to 

 run, to court, to mate, to brood, to eat. The long, heavily 

 muscled legs provide stable support, a long stride, and a 

 powerful kick. Having but two legs and wings that are not 

 adapted for flight, the ostrich requires less brain than a 

 mammal of the same weight. 



On the Kiteti Plains we collected a cock ostrich that 



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