A WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE. 



The ostrich, when full grown, is eight or nine feet tall, and I have known some 

 to weigh between three and four hundred pounds. Its only weapon of deferise is 



its powerful legs, about which I have al- 

 ready told you. Its eye-sight is very keen, 

 and its elevated head gives it a wide range 

 of vision. 



The ma'.e is of a glossy black color, 

 with the exception of the large plumes of 

 the wing-feathers, which are a pure, rich 



the chief objects of 



are of a 



white. These are 

 ostrich hunting. 



In the female, the 



grayish brown, fringed here and there 

 with white. The cry of the bird is coarse 

 and gruff, its legs are strongly jointed, 

 and its hide is capable of being tanned 

 into strong leather. 



The nest of the ostrich is of the sim- 

 plest description, consisting of a rude 

 cavity in the sand, five or six feet wide 

 and twenty inches deep. The eggs are 



packed on end, so as to economize space, 



~, . . , . , . HOTTENTOT INGENUITY. 



as many as fifty having been found in a 



single nest. These are the product of several birds, which take turns in sitting 



