I 



OSTRICH 



STRUTHIO MASAICUS 

 SWAHILI : MBUSSI. MASAI : SIDAI 



HIS fine bird may be counted as game, 

 I take it, although it is not found in 

 many books on the subject, but every 

 one is anxious to shoot his maximum 

 number two for the sake of the feathers, to 

 give away to " his sisters, and his cousins, and his 

 aunts," let us hope ! 



They are hardly worth shooting except when 

 they are in full plumage, which is, I fancy, in 

 November and May, that is, in the rains. A cock 

 ostrich, as every one knows, is black-and-white ; 

 the hens, which one may not shoot, are light 

 brown the " natural colour " of furriers. A cock 

 ostrich in full plumage is easily distinguished 

 through glasses, as he has a red neck. If one is 

 lucky enough to bag one "at six hundred yards 

 running," this redness will be found to be in the 

 skin, which has a covering of a nature more 

 hairy than feathery. Excellent oil can be ex- 

 tracted from an ostrich by boiling down the fat, 

 of which there is any quantity. It is excellent 



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