THE 



LIVING ANIMALS 



OF 



THE WORLD. 



BOOK II. BIRDS. 



BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S. 



Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park. 



RUFOUS TINAMOU, BRAZIL. 

 The tail-feathers of these birds are so small as to appear to be wanting. 



reduced to a mere vestige. It is a rule in Nature, we 

 such as a wing or a leg or a tail, ceases to be useful, 

 of reduction or degeneration, growing smaller and 

 smaller in each successive generation, till at last it 

 may even disappear altogether. The loss of flight 

 has been accompanied by a degeneration in the 

 quality of the feathers that is to say, their service- 

 ability as aids to flight has been entirely lost. 



The size of the members of this group varies 

 much. The largest of all is the African Ostrich ; 

 the smallest, of the flightless forms, the New Zealand 

 Apteryx. The ostrich-like birds which have retained 

 the power of flight are known as Tinamous, and are 

 natives of South America. All these are smaller than 

 the flightless Apteryx. 



TINAMOUS. 



The TINAMOUS should perhaps be regarded as 

 standing at the head of the Ostrich Tribe, since they 

 have reached a higher degree of development than 

 any other of its members. They have also preserved 

 the power of flight. In their general appearance 

 they bear a singular resemblance to partridges, though 

 a little careful observation will reveal many points 

 wherein they differ therefrom. They are very confiding 

 and unsuspicious birds some persons call them stupid 



385 



CHAPTER I. 



THE OSTRICH AND ITS KINDRED. 



THE Ostriches are a very ancient 

 group of birds, and, judging from 

 what we know of their anatomy, 

 they must be regarded as representing 

 the most primitive of living birds. 

 With the exception of a single group, 

 to be discussed presently, all have lost 

 the power of flight. In some, in 

 consequence, the wing has become 

 may remark, that whenever an organ, 

 it undergoes forthwith a slow process 



Photo by H. Noble, Esq.'} 



RHEA AND YOUNG. 



[Henley. 



Although the wings of the rhea are large, they fit so closely 

 to the body as to be invisible when closed. 



49 



