9? THE SOUTH AMERICAN OSTRICH, [chap. v. 



animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the 

 proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause 

 of the several theories of sudden revolutions of climate, 

 and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented 

 to account for their entombment. I am far from supposing 

 that the climate has not changed since the period when 

 those animals lived, which now lie buried in the ice. At 

 present I only wish to show, that as far as quantity of 

 food alone is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have 

 roamed over the steppes of central Siberia (the northern 

 parts probably being under water) even in their present 

 condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants 

 over the Karros of Southern Africa. 



I will now give an account of the habits of some of the 

 more interesting birds which are common on the wild plains 

 of Northern Patagonia ; and first for the largest, or South 

 American ostrich. The ordinary habits of the ostrich are 

 familiar to every one. They live on vegetable matter, such 

 as roots and grass ; but at Bahia Blanca I have repeatedly 

 seen three or four come down at low water to the extensive 

 mud-banks which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos 

 say, of feeding on small fish. Although the ostrich in its 

 habits is so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet 

 in its pace, it is caught without much difficulty by the 

 Indian or Gaucho armed with the bolas. When several 

 horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes confounded, 

 and does not know which way to escape. They generally 

 prefer running against the wind ; yet at the first start they 

 expand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On 

 one fine hot day I saw several ostriches enter a bed of 

 tall rushes, where they squatted concealed, till quite closely 

 approached. It is not generally known that ostriches readily 

 take to the water. Mr. King informs me that at the Bay 

 of San Bias, and at Port Valdes in Patagonia, he saw these 

 birds swimming several times from island to island. They 

 ran into the water both when driven down to a point, and 

 likewise of their own accord when not frightened : the 

 distance crossed was about two hundred yards. When 

 swimming, very little of their bodies appears above water ; 

 their necks are extended a little forward, and their progress 

 is slow. On two occasions I saw some ostriches swimming 

 across the Santa Cruz river, where its course was about 

 four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain 



