290 cassell's book of birds. 



object be of such a nature as to be utterly indigestible by their stomachs. Brehm mentions that upon 

 more than one occasion his bunch of keys was thus appropriated by an Ostrich, and cites an instance 

 in which a great variety of small articles made of metal, such as coins, keys, nails, and bullets, 

 together with a considerable quantity of gravel and pebbles, were found upon dissection in the 

 stomach of a single individual. Small quadrupeds and birds they also enjoy amazingly, and an 

 authority, quoted by Brehm, affirms that one of these voracious creatures that was kept about a farm- 

 house, entered the yard, and seeing a fine brood of ducklings running about after their mother, coolly 

 swallowed them one after the other with no more ceremony than if they had been so many oysters. 

 Nor is the thirst of these birds less remarkable, for Anderson assures us that when engaged in 

 drinking they seem so engrossed as to have neither eyes nor ears for anything around them ; day by 

 day the same spot is visited in order to obtain water, until regular beaten tracks are formed, that 

 have often misled travellers in the African desert, and caused them to imagine they had discovered 

 the footprints of man, The female Ostrich deposits her numerous eggs in a shallow hollow in the 

 sand, only a few inches deep, but about one yard in diameter ; round this a slight wall is scraped 

 together, and against it the numerous eggs are placed upon end, in such a manner as to occupy 

 the least possible space. Several females lay in the same spot, so that it is not uncommon to find as 

 many as thirty, or, according to Livingstone, as forty-five eggs in one nest. During the night the 

 male bird broods, whilst in the daytime the eggs are covered with sand and left exposed to the sun's 

 rays for hours at a time. Several eggs usually lie scattered around the nest ; these are supposed to 

 be intended as food for such of* the young as first emerge from the shell. Solitary eggs are also 

 left lying at random all over the country, and are named by the Bechuans ' losetla.' It is from this 

 habit, most probably, that want of parental instinct is laid to the charge of the Ostrich ; moreover, it is 

 certain that when surprised by man with their young, before the latter are able to run, the parent bird 

 usually scuds off alone and leaves its offspring to their fate. To do otherwise would be self-sacrifice, 

 as it is aware of its inability to defend itself or its poults, and on the open desert it cannot, like other 

 cursorial birds, mislead the pursuer or conceal its brood in herbage. The young are hatched in six 

 or seven weeks, and make their appearance covered, not with feathers, but with a bristle-like growth, 

 somewhat resembling the prickles on the back of a hedgehog. From the day they quit the shell, 

 they not only run easily, but are fully competent to pick up their food from the ground, and within a 

 fortnight are entirely self-dependent." The following anecdote illustrative of the affection occasionally 

 displayed by the Ostrich for its little family is given by Anderson, who was an eye-witness on the 

 occasion, he and his friend, Mr. Gallon, having come upon a male and female escorting a brood of 

 young ones of about the size of Barn-door Fowls : — " The moment the parent birds became aware 

 of our intention, they set off at full speed, the female leading the way, the young following in her 

 wake, and the cock, though at some little distance, bringing up the rear of the family party. It was 

 very touching to observe the anxiety the old birds evinced for the safety of their progeny. Finding 

 that we were quickly gaining upon them, the male at once slackened his pace and diverged somewhat 

 from his course ; but seeing that we were not to be diverted from our purpose, he again increased his 

 speed, and with wings drooping so as almost to touch the ground, he hovered round us now in wide 

 circles, and then decreasing the circumference till he cartie almost within pistol-shot, when he abruptly 

 threw himself on the ground, and struggled desperately to regain his legs, as it appeared, like a bird 

 that has been badly wounded. Having previously fired at him I really thought he was disabled, and 

 made quickly towards him, but this was only a ruse on his part, for on my nearer approach he slowly 

 rose, and began to run in an opposite direction to that of the female, who by this time was consider- 

 ably ahead with her charge." 



The eggs of the Ostrich are of an oval shape, and have a thick, glossy, yellowish white shell. 



