NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. 211 



ments. The hair-like plumage is of a light ashen colour, while 

 the breast and thighs are white. The height of an adult bird 

 is about five feet. The wing feathers are large, out-curved and 

 fluffy white. Commercially these feathers are not as valuable as 

 the plumes of the ostrich, yet many thousands of Rheas are killed 

 annually, and as the young are not easily reared in captivity, it 

 seems certain that the group will soon become extinct. 



Several females unite in depositing their eggs, to a total num- 

 ber of twenty to sixty, in a. single large depression in the soil. 

 As with the other birds of this group, the male takes upon liim- 

 self the entire labour of incubation and the rearing of the young 

 birds. When fresh the eggs are golden-yellow in colour, but they 

 soon fade to a dull whitish. When the male birds indulge in 

 combats for supremacy over the females, they twine their necks 

 together, and bite and kick quite savagely. 



The Indians of the pampas hunt the Rhea on horseback, and 

 capture it by means of the bolas — two leaden balls connected by 

 a strip of rawhide, eight or ten feet in length. This is skillfully 

 thrown from a distance of as much as fiftv yards. The strand 

 wraps about the neck and legs of the bird, hurling it helpless to 

 the ground. 



The general mien of the Rhea is stately, and its actions are 

 easy and graceful. They are gentle birds in captivity, and are 

 easily tamed, especially if they are captured when young. The 

 Rhea will probably be the first of the four large ostrich-like l)irds 

 to be exterminated by man, the emeu coming next. 



THE OSTRICH. 



The greatest of all living birds is the .\frican ( )strich, a full- 

 grown male standing eight feet and easily reaching to a height of 

 nine feet. The maximum weight of such a bird is about three 

 hundred pounds. 



In the matter of vision, the ( )strich is the very antithesis of 

 the apteryx, and its great height enables it to command an ex- 

 tensive view. On the other hand, in power of scent it is very 

 deficient. These facts result in a reciprocal friendship between 

 these birds and herds of zebras and antelopes. Should an enemy 

 creep up through cover of clumps of grass, the keen nostrils of 

 the four-footed creatures give timely warning: while in a more 

 open countrv. when there is no wind, the eyes of the giant binls 

 unerringlv search out the distant foe. 



The 0.strich was well known to the ancient Tharaohs of I'-gypt, 



