BRANCH CHORD AT A; CLASS AYES: THE BIRDS 343 



The young (fig. 136) hatch in from seven to eight weeks, 

 and can run about immediately. 



The rheas, found in South America, and the cassowaries 

 of Australia are the only other living ostrich-like birds. 



Fir.. 136. Young ostriches just from egg: on ostrich farm at Pasadena, 

 California. (Photograph from life.) 



Their feathers are of much less value than those of the 

 true ostrich. 



The loons, grebes, auks, etc. (Pygopodes). The 

 loons, grebes, and auks are aquatic birds, living in both 

 ocean and fresh waters. Their feet are webbed or lobed, 

 and their legs set so far back that walking is very difficult 

 and awkward. But all the birds of this order are excel- 

 lent swimmers and divers. They are distinctively the 

 diving birds. They have short wings and almost no tail. 

 The dab-chick or pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiccps) 

 is common in ponds over all the country. Its eggs are 

 laid in a floating nest of pond vegetation and are often 

 covered with decaying plants. The horned grebe 

 (Colymbus auritns) is common west of the Mississippi in 

 lakes and ponds. The loon or great northern diver 



