340 



BIRDS. 



These birds fly well ; the males attach themselves strictly to a single female, 

 with whom they live, roosting upon trees or in the clefts of rocks ; they lay few 

 eggs, but at intervals frequently repeated. The male assists the female in 

 the work of incubation. They feed their young brood with grain previously 

 softened in their own craw. 



ORDER CURSORES.* 



The principal characteristic of these birds consists in the unde- 

 veloped condition of their wings, which are quite disproportioned 

 to the size of the body, and completely incapable of flight. In 



some cases, these rudi- 

 mentary wings are but 

 imperfectly furnished 

 with feathers, in others 

 they are fully plumed, 

 but even then seem only 

 to be used after the man- 

 ner of sails, to catch the 

 wind and thus assist in 

 running. They run with 

 _ extraordinary swiftness, 

 - v and hence the name Cnr- 

 i, : _, sores or Runners is ap- 

 plied to them with great 

 propriety. The living 

 species form two families, 

 of one of which, the Os- 

 trich, and of the other, 

 the Apteryx, is the type. 



The Ostriches (Striithi- 

 onidce) are remarkable for the 

 great size and strength of 

 their legs : the shortness of 

 their wings is such that they 

 are quite unadapted for flight. 



The True Ostriches (Struthio), however, still have their wings covered 

 with loose and floating plumes of sufficient length to afford them considerable 

 assistance in running. Two species only are known: the African Ostrich 

 (Struthio camelus), and the American Ostrich (Stmthio Rhea). 



The African Ostrich has only two toes upon each foot ; and the outermost of 

 the two, which is but half the length of the inner one, is without a claw. These birds 

 are very numerous in the sandy deserts of Arabia and of the interior of Africa. They 

 attain the height of seven or eight feet, live in large flocks, and lay eggs that weigh 

 nearly three pounds apiece : in intertropical regions these eggs are simply buried in 



* Cursor, a runner, from Curro, to run. 



. 



FIG 



OSTRICH. 



