270 



A COURSE ON ZOOLOGY. 



not requiring large surfaces for muscles of flight, as in 

 the carinatse. There are no shafted feathers. 



The smallest representative is the apteryx or kiwi of 

 New Zealand, usually not much larger than a good-sized 

 hen. The largest is the ostrich, which is also the largest 

 living bird, being six or seven feet high. The plumage 

 of the males is black mixed with white, and there are 



FIG. 212. 



CASSOWARY (Casuarius galeaius). 



large white feathers on the wings and tail ; that of the 

 female is uniform gray. The ostrich is now found wild 

 only in the sandy portions of Africa, Arabia, and Syria, 

 but it is tamed and reared on ostrich farms for the feath- 

 ers, which have great value. The ostrich can run with 

 great rapidity, and can travel over the desert, passing 

 rapidly from one oasis to another in search of food. 

 The rhea of South America is closely related to the 



