254 JVotes on JYaivral History. [May, 



quently to be observed in flocks of from twenty to thirty, feeding 

 on the scanty vegetation, which at times clothes the surface of 

 the ground, and w'hen seen from some gentle elevation, in strong 

 relief against the intense blueness of the sky, they present a truly 

 picturesque, though somewhat formidable appearance. "When first 

 approached they are seemingly quite tame, but on a nearer ap- 

 proximation they immediately spread out their short wings and 

 sail off with an unusual speed, easily distancing the fleetest horse 

 in his wildest career. The males can easily be distinguished from 

 their companions by their superior size, larger heads and deeper 

 color of the plumage, and are said while feeding to utter a pecu- 

 liar deep-toned hissing note, the sound of which appears singu- 

 larly deceptive to the ear, so that an individual present not sus- 

 pecting from whence it proceeds, becomes frequently excited to 

 no small degree of alarm. They are said also to feed on small 

 fishes and moluscus animals, being frequently seen wading about 

 the muddy shores and in the shallow waters of the sea, and like- 

 wise swimming from one rocky islet to another, in some seclu- 

 ded bay or rivers mouth. Their nests are merely shallow depres- 

 sions in the ground, and each one generally contains from twenty 

 to fifty or more eggs. The males are said to perform all the du- 

 ties of the females in sitting on the nest, hatching out the young, 

 and accompanying them for some time after in their perambula- 

 tions over the plains. While thus occupied, these birds are ex- 

 ceedingly fierce and dangerous to approach, so that the Indians are 

 sometimes obliged to defend themselves with some considerable 

 energy against their vigorous assaults. It is a well known fact 

 that several females deposit their eggs in the same nest ; a sin- 

 gularly wise econemy of instinct, and happily adapted to the pe- 

 culiar circumstances in which they are placed, for by no other 

 contrivance could so large a collection be made to agree so con- 

 veniently in age. The hen lays but one egg at a time, at regular 

 intervals of three days each ; now if all those found in a nest 

 were the production of a single hen, the time that must necessa- 

 rily elapse from the commencement of laying until its termination, 

 would in all probability cause most of them to become addled and 

 impure, and in this manner greatly interfere with one of the most 

 simple and beautiful provisions of nature. Single eggs are often 

 found scattered promiscuously over the plain, and although un- 

 broken, are universally spoiled. These no doubt have been drop- 

 ped by the hens when the males are not sufficiently numerous to 

 take charge of them during incubation. These birds are easily 

 taken by the Indians, who, mounted on horses, surround them in 

 extensive circles, and gradually close in until they are brought 

 within the influence of their unerring bolas. 



There is another species of ostrich, which in general appear- 



