CHAPTER XII 



THE OSTRICH. 



" I'll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my sword like a 

 great pin, ere thou and I part." SHAKESPEARE. 



OF all living birds the ostrich is perhaps the most 

 unconventional. He claims to be a bird, and a bird he 

 most certainly is. But he takes every opportunity of 

 departing in figure, dress, and habits from the standards 

 of ordinary respectable birds. Look at his feathers ! 

 Very beautiful, I admit, is the plumage of the cock 

 ostrich as he struts in nuptial attire of well-contrasted 

 black and white ; but quite unconventional. How 

 different is the careless but not untasteful disorder of his 

 dress from the smug respectability of the Rev. Mr. Rook's 

 attire, or the soft smooth grace of the Hon. Mrs. Pheasant's 

 feathers, or even the neat and homely dress of Widow 

 Wren. And if we look at a single feather we find, instead 

 of the close firm web which every bird of mature age who 

 likes to keep up the traditions of his race whether he be 

 an eagle or a goose will show you with pride, a loose, soft 

 wavy plume, of rare beauty indeed, but not what is usual 

 in the best avian society. 



Have you ever examined a bird's feather ? On either 

 side of the central shaft are the flattened barbs which 



