The Ostrich 



By WILLIAM DUTCHER 



President National Association of Audubon Societies 



A technical description of this exotic bird is omitted, as the public is 

 already well acquainted with the strange creature that, feathered like a bird, 

 is unable to fly, but can run with a speed like that of a horse. 



Linnaeus recognized only one species, but later naturalists have divided 

 the genus into four or five races. The ancestral home of the Ostrich is the 

 whole of Africa, together with Arabia and southeastern Persia, in Asia. 



The importance of this bird as a commercial asset is so great that in 

 portions of Africa it is protected by law. Cape Colony has a duty of ^5 on 

 each egg and a much larger sum on each bird exported. Ostrich -farming is 

 an important and rapidly growing industry in Africa, and within the last 

 twenty years has been successfully introduced in the United States, where 

 it will soon occupy a very important place in the commercial enterprises of 

 the country. The Audubon Societies are not opposed to the use of feather orna- 

 ments which can be obtained without cruelty or the sacrifice of the lives of birds. 

 The feathers of wild birds cannot be obtained unless birds are killed, and there- 

 fore should never be worn; on the other hand,' Ostrich feathers are legitimate as 

 well as beautiful decorations and are approved by the Audubon Societies. Their 

 use does not entail the sacrifice of life, nor does it cause the slightest suffering to 

 the Ostrich; taking plumes from an Ostrich is no more painful to the bird than 

 shearing is to a sheep. Further, the Audubon Societies do not approve of the 

 use of Ostrich feathers in combination with aigrettes as is so often done; they 

 are the antithesis of each other, one plume being obtained without loss of life or 

 pain to the Ostrich while the other is only secured by killing White Herons 

 during the breeding season and thus causing suffering and death not only to the 

 parent birds but also to the helpless nestlings. Furthermore, the use of Ostrich 

 plumes encourages an important industry which gives employment, in this 

 country, to an annually increasing number of people. 



The following interesting information regarding the Ostrich industry in 

 America is furnished by Mr. Edwin Barbour, secretary of the Phcenix- 

 American Ostrich Company, Phoenix, Ariz., and Mr. Edwin Cawston, 

 owner of the South Pasadena, California, farm; the latter also furnished 

 the photograph of the method of plume -cutting which illustrates this 

 article : 



In 1882, Ostriches were first introduced into the United States for 

 breeding purposes by a Dr. Protheroe. A number were shipped from Cape 

 Town, Africa, some of which survived to reach New York, where they 

 were shipped overland to California, only twenty-two birds arriving, which 

 were the nucleus of the farm started at Anaheim, the corporation being 

 known as the California Ostrich Company. During the next four years 

 three other parties ventured in the field of Ostrich-farming, the most suc- 



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