CURSORES. 385 



domen, on which they support themselves when at rest ; they both 

 lie down in the same manner, and the feet and (in some respects) 

 the stomachs of both are similarly constructed ; both are capable 

 of subsisting on a scanty vegetation, of enduring thirst, and of 

 traversing arid sands and desert regions." Anderson says, "their 

 cry resembles that of a lion, so as even to deceive the natives ; 

 they are so swift and strong they will outstrip an English horse 

 in speed, with two men mounted on their back, and it takes a 

 long time to exhaust them. Their food, in the wild state, con- 

 sists of seeds, tops and buds of various shrubs and plants ; in 

 confinement, they swallow, with avidity, stones, pieces of wood, 

 iron spoons, knives, leather, hair, cordage, glass, minerals, and 

 all sorts of indigestible matter, so that this bird has been called 

 the Iron-eating Ostrich." Although capable of enduring thirst 

 for a long time, yet "they flock daily, about noon, to the pools, 

 where they swallow the water by a succession of gulps. This 

 is one of the most favorable times to shoot them. The Ostrich, 

 like the Capercaillie of Europe, has a plurality of wives, from 

 two to six, each laying from four to six eggs in the same nest, 

 which is a simple cavity scooped out in the sand ; both male and 

 female assist in hatching them.* The bird sits astride over them 

 with its legs pointed forward. Some eggs are always placed 

 outside the nest to serve as food for the young ; when hatched, 

 the chicks are about the size of pullets, and of a pepper and salt 

 color, covered with neither down nor feathers, but a kind of 

 prickly external. They are scarcely to be distinguished from 

 the gravel or sand of the plains, or the stunted vegetation among 

 which they dwell. The flesh of the young is not unpalatable, 

 but that of the old bird is anything but agreeable, tasting much 

 like the meat of the Zebra." Under the Mosaic law the Ostrich 

 was an unclean animal, and the Jews were forbidden to eat it. 

 The Arabs of the present day still adhere to this prohibition. 

 Some of the less fastidious tribes of Southern Africa partake of 

 it with a relish, more especially when fat. The brains of hund- 

 reds of these animals often made a dish at the luxurious suppers 

 of the ancient Romans. They were considered great delicacies, 

 and the Emperor Heliogabalus, it is said, was served with six 

 hundred of them at a single feast. The eggs of the Ostrich are 



* There is no inconsistency in this statement with the passage Job, xxxix, 

 14, which refers to the Ostrich as found in the torrid zone, where the in- 

 tense heat renders incubation unnecessary, and the bird hence, " leaves her 

 eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust," showing little of mater- 

 nal care or solicitude. The remarks here given from Anderson apply to the 

 bird as seen in the cooler regions of Southern Africa. 



