THE OSTRICH. 19 



cassowary, and the dodo, appear the least removed from the for- 

 mer, and may be considered as constituting the first gradation 

 of the latter class. 



THE OSTRICH 



Has been noticed from the remotest antiquity, for we find it 

 included by Moses among the birds which were accounted un- 

 clean : that it was well known to the Israelites and Egyptians 

 at so early a period, is not indeed surprising, as it inhabits 

 scarcely any other countries than the sandy deserts bordering on 

 Egypt and Palestine. It appears, indeed, perfectly adapted to 

 those arid regions, where eternal sterility reigns. It delights to 

 range in the immense solitudes, where, if Nature, parched with 

 almost perpetual drought, produce but few vegetables, and still 

 less water, its appetite requires but little selection to gratify it ; 

 and its powers of digestion are inconceivable. Its voracity is 

 such, that it feeds not only on every thing that is edible, but vo- 

 raciously devours leather, glass, iron, and stones. When an 

 ostrich is killed, its stomach is found crammed with such an as- 

 semblage of incongruous substances, as appears astonishing ; and 

 were not the fact well known, would be absolutely incredible. 

 It is asserted, that this bird never drinks ; and the aridity of the 

 deserts which it inhabits, gives a sanction to this opinion. 



The ostrich, in its general figure, resembles the camel, and 

 might at a distance be mistaken for that animal. It is un- 

 doubtedly the largest of all birds, being nearly as high as a man 

 on horseback. It measures seven feet from the top of the head 

 to the feet, but from the back only four ; its neck is consequently 

 three feet long. When the neck is stretched out, it measures 

 six feet from the head to the rump. Each wing with the 

 feathers is about three feet in length, and about half as long 

 without them. 



The plumage is that which causes the ostrich to be the most 

 highly esteemed. It is almost every where considered as an 

 elegant article of personal decoration. In most of the species 

 its colour is a mixture of black and white, but in some it is said 

 to be grey. The feathers of the tail and the wings are held in 

 such high estimation, as to constitute, in some countries, no in- 

 considerable article of commerce ; and the bird is hunted merely 

 for their sake. All the other parts of its body and thighs are 

 bare; the latter are extremely large and fleshy : the legs are 

 covered with large scales : the end of the foot is cloven, and has 

 two very large toes — one measuring nearly seven, and the other 

 about four inches in length. 



This bird has been erroneously represented as devoid of 

 natural affection ; but, far from leaving its eggs to be hatched 



