610 BIRDS. 



utmost imperceptible degrees, heavier and less agile; till, at length, 

 being wholly destitute of the qualities necessary for flight, they are 

 incapable of rising from the surface of the earth. 



The ostrich is the largest of all birds, and, from this prerogative 

 in a great measure, is incapable of flight, the great prerogative of 

 the order. Its weight is about fourscore pounds ; its height, from 

 the top of the head to the ground, is from seven to nine feet ; 

 length, from the beak to the tip of the tail, is about the sair.e. 

 When walking, it seems as tall as^a man on horseback. The plu- 

 mage of the ostrich, however, as well as its weight, is an insuperable 

 bar against its ever rising into the air. The vanes of the wing fea- 

 thers are separate and detached, like hairs, and incapable of making 

 any impression on the atmosphere. Those of the tail, and, indeed, 

 of the whole body, are of the same structure. They are all as soft 

 as down-, and utterly unfit, not only for flying, but for defending the 

 body of the animal from external injury. The feathers of other 

 birds have their webs broader on the one side than on the other ; 

 but those of the ostrich have the shaft exactly in the middle. The 

 head, upper part of the neck, sides and thighs, are covered, instead 

 of with feathers, with a clear and white kind of hair, which, on the 

 head, somewhat resembles the bristles of a hog. The thighs of 

 this bird, in which its strength seems chiefly to reside, are large and 

 muscular ; and its hard and scaly legs, which are supported by two 

 thick toes, have a striking similarity to those of a goat. These toes 

 are of unequal size j the inner, which is both longer and thicker, 

 being seven inches in length, including the claw. The other, 

 which is without a claw, is only four inches. It is the only bird 

 that possesses eyelids, and these are fringed. 



The internal structure of the ostrich exhibits still more decisive 

 proofs of its affinity to the race of quadrupeds, and of its deviation 

 from that of birds. The heart and lungs are separated by a inid- 

 riffe, as in quadrupeds ; while the sexual organs bear an equal re- 

 semblance and analogy ; as do also the kidneys, which differ from 

 those of other birds, in not being divided into two lobes. It has 

 two stomachs, the one larger, resembling the crop of other birds } 

 and the other smaller, and constructed like the stomach in the 

 human species. The first is furnished with a large number of 

 muscular fibres, and seems to act by trituration ; while the second, 

 which acts by means of a gastric liquor, is, on opening the bird, 

 constantly found filled with a variety of different substances, vege- 



