42 THE OSTRICH. 



on one side than the other, but those of the ostrich 

 have their shaft exactly in the middle. The up- 

 per part of the head and neck are covered with 

 a very fine clear white hair, that shines like the 

 bristles of a hog ; and in some places there are 

 small tufts of it, consisting of above twelve hairs, 

 which grow from a single shaft about the thick- 

 ness of a pin. 



At the end of each wing there is a kind of 

 spur almost like the quill of a porcupine. It is 

 an inch long, being hollow and of a horny sub- 

 stance. There are two of these on each wing, 

 the largest of which is at the extremity of the 

 bone of the wing, and the other a foot lower. 

 The neck seems to be more slender in propor- 

 tion to that of other birds, from its not being 

 furnished with feathers. The skin in this part 

 is of a livid flesh colour, which some improperly 

 would have to be blue. The bill is short and 

 pointed, and two inches and a half at the begin- 

 ning. The external form of the eye is like that 

 of a man, the upper eye-lid being adorned with 

 eye-lashes, which are longer than those on the 

 lid below. The tongue is small, very short, and 

 composed of cartilages, ligaments, and mem- 

 branes, intermixed with fleshy fibres. In some 

 it is about an inch long, and very thick at the 

 bottom. In others it is but half an inch, being 

 a little forked at the end. 



The thighs are very fleshy and large, being- 

 covered with a white skin, inclining to redness, 

 and wrinkled in the manner of a net, whose 

 meshes will admit the end of a finger. Some 



