i84 SAFARI 



The full-grown ostrich sometimes weighs more 

 than three hundred poimds and is as much as nine 

 feet high. His most marked characteristic is the 

 fact that he has only two toes — the third and fourth 

 — on each foot. In South America there is another 

 large bird — the rhea — which is also called an ostrich. 

 This bird can be distinguished from the true ostrich 

 by its having three toes instead of two. According to 

 the biologists the original ostrich had five toes. 

 However, the modem bird can probably run faster 

 with the two it has now than could his ancestors with 

 five. 



Arabian legend has it that the ostrich is the result 

 of tinion between a camel and a dodo bird! Cer- 

 tainly it inherited some of the worst characteristics of 

 both. Its awkward shape, the uselessness of its 

 wings, its seeming lack of pleasure in life, all indicatis 

 that it is one of Nature's errors. 



The one offensive weapon at the command of the 

 ostrich is its foot. The terrific downward stroke 

 of its huge toe driven by a muscular thigh the thick- 

 ness of a leg of mutton is easily the equal of the kick 

 of a full-grown horse. A blow from it will break 

 a rib or the backbone of any ordinary animal. In 

 addition to the force of the blow, the sharp claw can 

 tear skin and flesh like a military saber. 



I remember once when a native was standing in 

 front of an ostrich that was to be caught for plucking. 



