104 



THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



Fig. 61. 



the fastest runner of all animals. They lay eggs weigh- 

 ing nearly three pounds each. 



The Rhea, or American Ostrich, is a native of the 

 plains bordering the river La Plata, extending through the 

 south of Brazil to the north of Patagonia. It is rather 

 smaller than the Ostrich, and has three toes on each foot. 

 The Emu is a native of New Holland, and is quite as 

 large as the Ostrich. The wings are scarcely visible at 

 all, and such as they a*re, they 

 are hidden under the coat of the 

 bird, which can scarcely be said 

 to be formed of feathers, being 

 more like a mass of strong 

 branching hairs. 



The Cassowary is a native 

 of Java, and has no wings that 

 can be termed such. Like the 

 Emu, the covering is not like 

 feathers, but resembles the hair 

 from a horse's mane. Two 

 species are known one of 

 which has a strong bony helmet 

 on its head (Fig. 61), and the 

 other is without this appendage. 

 The Apteryx may be said 

 to be really wingless, for it only 

 has the merest rudiments of 

 wings so buried under its hairy 

 covering that they can only be 

 found with considerable diffi- 

 culty. This bird is a native of 

 New Zealand, and feeds on 



worms, which it obtains by thrusting its long beak into 

 the soil. It is supposed that the Apteryx is becoming 

 extinct, like several others, of which skeletons are found 



HEAD OF 

 THE CASSOWARY. 



