136 THE OSTRICH. 



structure of its feet, which have only two toes, both di- 

 rected forwards, and connected at their base by a strong 

 membrane ; the internal being considerably larger than the 

 external, and being furnished with a thick hoof-like claw, 

 which is wanting in the latter. The legs are covered with 

 a rugged skin, reticulated in such a manner as to present 

 the appearance of large scales : they are completely naked 

 throughout, even in the muscular part, which, like the 

 under surface of the wings, is bare of feathers, and ex- 

 hibits a flesh-colored tinge. The wings are each of them 

 armed with two plumeless shafts, resembling the quills of 

 a Porcupine. Instead of quill-feathers, they are orna- 

 mented with gracefully undulating plumes, and similar ap- 

 pendages terminate the tail. The long neck is covered on 

 its upper half with a thin down, through which the color 

 of the skin is distinctly visible. The head is small in pro- 

 portion to the magnitude of the bird, and is invested with 

 the same kind of covering as the neck, except on its upper 

 surface, which is bald and callous. The ears are naked 

 on the outside, and hairy within ; the eyes are large and 

 brilliant, and so prominently placed as to enable both to ob- 

 tain a distinct view of the same object at the same time. 

 They bear a remarkable similarity to the eyes of mammi- 

 ferous quadrupeds, and have frequently been compared to 

 those of man, which they also resemble in the breadth and 

 mobility of their upper lids, and in the lashes by which these 

 organs are fringed. The beak is short, straight, broad at 

 the base, and rounded at the point, flattened from above, 

 downwards, extremely strong, and opening with a wide 

 gape. The nostrils are seated near the base of the upper 

 mandible, and are partly closed by a cartilaginous pro- 

 tuberance. 



The African Ostrich is the only species to which the 

 foregoing characters are applicable. It is generally from 

 six to eight feet in height. The lower part of the neck of 

 the male, and the whole of its body, are clothed with 



