RUNNING BIRDS. 171 



Cursores this bone is a smooth round shield on its breast. 

 While the muscles of the wings are small, those of the 

 legs are very stout their chief power is there. The plu- 

 mage differs from those of birds of flight, the laminae of 

 the feathers not being united together by barbs ( 197). 

 Such a union is needed for the pressure on the air re- 

 quired in flying, and therefore is omitted when there is 

 no flying to be done. 



280. This group of birds is, then, an aberrant one, and, 

 as is usually the case in groups of this character, there 

 are but few species. One of the most prominent is the 

 African Ostrich. This is the tallest of all birds, reach- 

 ing sometimes even to eight feet. It is found in the 

 sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia. It is probably the 

 swiftest of all running animals. It can be domesticated, 

 and will easily carry two men on its back. Its nest is 

 merely a hollow made in the sand, and the hatching of 

 the eggs is not left to the heat of the sun, but both the 

 male and female bird engage in the incubation. The 

 Bushmen make of these shells water-flasks, cups, and dish- 

 es. The food of the Ostrich consists of the tops of shrub- 

 by plants, seeds, and grain. It swallows, also, stones, 

 sticks, bits of metal, leather, etc., probably guided by in- 

 stinct, as these will help the grinding of the food, as the 

 gravel does which the common Fowl swallows. There 

 is an American Ostrich, a smaller bird, found in the south 

 ern part of South America. 



281. The Emu, Fig. 138 (page 172), a native of Austra- 

 lia, is nearly as large as the Ostrich, but is lower on the 

 legs, has a shorter neck, and is more thickset in body. 

 The wings are mere rudiments, and are concealed be- 

 neath the feathers of the body. The feathers strongly 

 resemble branching hairs, the laminse being at a distance 

 from each other. The Cassowary, a native of Java and 

 the neighboring islands, is much smaller than the Os- 

 trich. Of all the Cursores, the Apteryx of New Zealand 

 is the one most completely destitute of wings. It has a 



