300 THE TEOPICAL WORLD. 



of the Lord approached, and withdrew the veil which separated 

 him from the flaming orb. In an instant his wings were burnt, 

 and he fell miserably down upon the earth. • Even now he can- 

 not fly ; even now thou seest his singed feathers ; even now he 

 fears Grod's vengeance, and endeavours to escape it with gigantic 

 strides. Therefore, man ! let the bird of the desert serve 

 thee as a warning example : humble thyself before the power of 

 the Almighty, and never undertake anything without saying 

 beforehand " inschalla ! " that the blessing of Grod may attend 

 thy work.' There is evidently a great resemblance between this 

 legend and the story of Icarus, but the Arab tale gives an ex- 

 cellent moral lesson, and is imbued with a deep religious 

 feeling, of which we find no traces in the Greek. 



The Rheas, from their size and similar habits, have been 

 styled the ostriches of the New World, though differing in 

 many essential characters. One species, the Rhea Dai'winii, 

 inhabits Patagonia, while the Emu or Nandu {Rhea Americana) 

 is found throughout the whole eastern part of South America, 

 from Buenos Ayres to the Orinoco, wherever open plains or 

 savannas invite it to take up its residence. The nandu is not 

 near so tall as the true ostrich, scarcely rising above four feet, 

 and is of a uniform grey colour except on the back, which has 

 a brown tint. The back and rump are fiu-nished with long- 

 feathers, but not of the same rich and costly kind as those which 

 adorn the African ostrich. Its feeble wings merely serve to 

 accelerate its flight, serving it as oars or sails, particularly when 

 running with the wind. ' It is not easily caught,' says the 

 Prince of Neu Wied, ' as it not only runs very fast, but in 

 zigzag lines, so that the horse, rendered giddy by so many 

 evolutions, at length drops down with its rider.' 



The Indian Archipelago and New Holland have likewise 

 their peculiar struthionidous birds. 



The Graleated Cassowary {Gasuarius galeatus), thus called 

 from its head being surmounted by a kind of horny helmet, is 

 a native of Java and the adjacent isles. The skin of the head 

 and upper part of the neck is naked, of a deep blue and fiery 

 red tint, with pendant caruncles similar to those of the turkey- 

 cock. It is much inferior in size to the ostrich, and its wings 

 are reduced to so rudimentary a state, consisting merely of five 

 long;* bristles, without any plumes, that they are even unable to 



