OSTRICH. 129 



females. These lay in a common nest, sometimes to the 

 number of sixty or seventy eggs, and share between them 

 the task of hatching, in which the male also takes a part 

 The young are at first very weak, and unable to walk ; 

 they are, however, tended by their parent with great 

 assiduity ; the old birds not only providing them with food; 

 but defending them from every threatened danger. The 

 ostrich subsists entirely upon vegetation: such 13 its 

 voracity that it will swallow pieces of iron, glass, and 

 other mineral substances : but these generally prove fatal 

 to it, being unfit for digestion. It may be taken alive, 

 domesticated, and made useful in many ways, The flesh 

 and eggs are highly esteemed as food ; the skin, which is 

 very thick, is used by the Arabians as leather ; the 

 feathers are highly prized, even among civilized nations, 

 for ornamental purposes; and the shell of their eggs, 

 which resembles ivory, is used in the formation of utensils 

 of ornament and domestic economy. 



On these several accounts, the bird is very valuable to 

 the natives, who employ various means of taking it; 

 which is difficult, from its fleetness, strength, and courage. 

 It is sometimes pursued on horseback, but art is necessa- 

 rily used not to alarm the Ostrich ; who, if put to its 

 utmost speed, would soon be lost sight of : the object is to 

 weary it by a persevering chace. When this effected, the 

 bird sometimes turns upon its pursuers with all the fierce- 

 ness of despair ; and at other times it will hide its head as 

 if ashamed, and quietly submit to its fate. When domes- 

 ticated, it is docile to those with whom it is conversant ; 

 but often attacks strangers, running furiously at them to 

 push them down ; and if it succeed, pecking at them with 

 its beak, and striking at them violently with its powerful 

 feet. When irritated, it makes a fierce hissing noise, 

 having its mouth open, and its throat inflated : its note of 

 triumph is a species of crackling. In the night it often 

 utters a doleful and hideous cry like the distant roaring of 

 the lion. 



When taking the eggs of the Ostrich, the natives are 

 very careful not to touch those which they leave behind, 

 as the parents would infallibly perceive it, and destroy all 

 that remained. 



