192 FROM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. 



With the coming of spring the mating instinct awakens in the 

 heart of the ostrich, and then it changes its habit of life in a 

 remarkable manner. The troops or herds break up into small 

 groups, and the adult males begin their long-continued combats for 

 mates. Excited to the highest pitch, as is outwardly indicated by 

 the vivid reddening of neck and legs, two rivals stand opposed ; they 

 fan their wings so that the full splendour of their fluffy white 

 plumes is displayed; they move their long necks in a scarce describ- 

 able fashion, twisting and bending now forwards, now sideways; 

 they utter deep and hoarse sounds, sometimes suggestive of a 

 muffled drum, sometimes even of the roaring of lions; they stare at 

 one another; they bend down on the soles of their feet, and move 

 their necks and wings more rapidly and persistently than before; 

 then they spring up again and rush at one another, seeking, in the 

 swift encounter, to strike their opponent a powerful blow with the 

 foot, and with the sharp-cutting toe-nail to make long, deep gashes 

 on body and legs. The victor in the combat is not more gentle to 

 the mate or mates which he has won, in fact he abuses them shame- 

 fully with bullying and blows. It is not at present perfectly 

 certain whether a male keeps company with one female or with 

 several; 49 it may be accepted as a fact, however, that several females 

 often lay in the same nest, and it has been observed that the female 

 does not undertake the whole responsibility of sitting on the eggs, 

 but leaves much of this to the male, who, after about eight weeks' 

 brooding, also leads about the young and tends them. In both 

 brooding and tending, the female does assist, but the male always 

 has the larger share, and in leading about the young brood he 

 shows more carefulness and solicitude than does the mother-bird. 

 The young ostriches, when hatched, are about the size of an average 

 hen, and come into the world with a remarkable suit of feathers, 

 more like the bristly coat of a mammal than the customary down 

 of young birds. As they exhibit the characteristic voracity of their 

 race from the day of their birth, they grow quickly, and after two 

 or three months they change their plumage and put on a garb 

 resembling that of the female. At least three years must pass, 

 however, before they are fully grown or ready for pairing. 



