THE CASSOWARY. 507 



found in extraordinary numbers all over the country. They either lie scattered .singly, in 

 which case they are never hatched, and are called by the Spaniards 'huachos,' or they are 

 collected together into a hollow excavation, which forms the nest. Out of the four nests 

 which I saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty -seven. In one day's 

 hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found ; forty-four of these were in two nests, and 

 the remaining twenty, scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm, and there is no 

 reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird alone hatches the eggs, and that he, for 

 some time afterwards, accompanies the young. The cock, while in the nest, lies very close ; I 

 have myself almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they ar,e occasionally 

 fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback, try- 

 ing to kick and leap on him. My informant pointed out to me an old man whom he had seen 

 much terrified by one of these birds chasing him." 



In captivity it is rather an amusing bird, and easily domesticated. Sometimes it seems to 

 be taken with a fit, and runs up and down its inclosure as if it were being chased, holding its 

 wings from the body and appearing in the most desperate state of alarm. This is only a sham 

 after all, a mere outburst of frolic, for the bird immediately subsides into quietude, and 

 resumes its leisurely walk as if nothing had happened. If startled or vexed, it utters a kind 

 of grunt as a warning, and if the offence be repeated, hisses sharply, draws back its head, and 

 seems poising itself for a stroke. The grunt is a hollow sound, something like the noise pro- 

 duced by striking a tin can with a wooden mallet, and every time that it is produced the 

 throat swells and sinks convulsively. The young are pretty little birds, pert, brisk, and 

 lively, and are colored rather prettily, their general hue being gray, striped with black, each 

 stripe having a cream-colored line along its centre. 



The Rhea is darkish-gray, taking a blackish hue above, and being rather lighter below. 

 The plumes of the wings are white, and a black band runs round the neck, and passes into a 

 semilunar patch on the breast. The neck is completely feathered. The average height of the 

 Rhea is about five feet. 



Three species of Rhea are, however, all inhabitants of South America, namely, the common 

 Rhea just described, Darwin's Rhea (Rhea darwinii), and the Large-billed Riiea 

 {Rhea maerorhyneha). 



The well-known Cassowary, long thought to be the only example of the genus, is found 

 in the Malaccas. 



This fine bird is notable for the glossy-black hair-like plumage, the helmet-like protuber- 

 ance upon the head, and the light azure, purple and scarlet of the upper part of the neck. 

 The "helmet" is a truly remarkable apparatus, being composed of a honey-combed cellular 

 bony substance, made on a principle that much resembles the structure of the elephant's skull, 

 mentioned in the previous volume of this work treating of the Mammalia. It yields readily 

 to a sharp knife or a fine saw, and may be cut through by a steady hand without leaving 

 ragged edges. This helmet is barely perceptible in the young bird when newly hatched, and 

 increases in proportion with its growth, not reaching its full development until the bird has 

 attained adult age. A similar phenomenon may be observed in the common Guinea fowl. 

 The beak is high in proportion to its width, and is therefore unlike the flattened and com- 

 paratively weak bills of the Ostrich. 



The plumage of the body is very hair-like, being composed of long and almost naked 

 shafts, two springing from the same tube, and one always being longer than the other. At the 

 roots of the shafts there is a small tuft of delicate down, sufficiently thick to supply a warm 

 and soft inner garment, but yet so small as to be hidden by the long hair-like plumage. Even 

 the tail is furnished with the same curious covering, and the wings are clothed after a similar 

 manner, with the exception of five black, stiff, strong, pointed quills, very like the large quills 

 of the porcupine, and being of different lengths, the largest not exceeding one foot, and gen- 

 erally being much battered about the point. When stripped of its feathers, the whole wing 

 only extends some three inches in length, and is evidently a mere indication of the limb. 



The eye of the Cassowary is fierce and resolute, and its expression is carried out by the 



