liiRus. 37 



ishinsi;; liowever, Galen, in mentioning this, asserts, that the 

 eggs of hens and pheasants are good to be eaten ; those of geese 

 and ostriches are the worst of ul\. 



CHAP. V. 



THE EMU. 



Of this bird, which raany call the American Ostrich, but lit- 

 tle is certainly known. It is an inhabitant of the New Conti- 

 nent ; and the travellers who have mentioned it, seem to have 

 been more solicitous in proving its affinity to the ostrich, than in 

 describing those peculiarities which distinguish it from all others 

 of the feathered creation. 



It is chiefly found in Guiana, along the banks of the Oroono- 

 ko, in the inland provinces of Brasil and Chili, and the vast 

 forests that border on the mouth of the river Plata. Many 

 other parts of South America were known to have them •, but 

 as men multiplied, these large and timorous birds either fell be- 

 neath their superior power, or fled from their vicinity. 



The Emu, though not so large as the ostrich, is only second 

 to it in magnitude. It is by much the largest bird in the New 

 Continent ; and is generally found to be six feet high, measur- 

 ing from its head to the ground. Its legs are three feet long ; 

 and its thigh is near as thick as that of a man. The toes diflfer 

 from those of the ostrich ; as there are three in the American 

 bird, and but two in the former. Its neck is long, its head small, 

 and the bill flatted, like that of the ostrich ; but in all other re- 

 spects it more resembles the Cassowary, a large bird to be de- 

 scribed hereafter. The form of the body appears round ; the 

 wings are short, and entirely unfitted for flying, and it wants a 

 tail. It is covered from the back and rump with long feathers, 

 which fall backward, and cover the anus ; these feathers are gray 

 upon the back, and white on the belly. It goes veiy swiftly, 

 and seems assisted in its motion by a kind of tubercle behind, 

 like a heel, upon which, on plain ground, it treads very seciu-ely ; 

 in its course it uses a very odd kind of action, lifting up one 

 wing, which it keeps elevated for a time ; till letting it drop, it 



iu. n 



