the male lies so very close when on the 

 nest that he had almost ridden over one. 

 It is also asserted that at such times the 

 male Rheas are sometimes fierce, and 

 even dangerous, for they have been 

 known to attack a man while on horse- 

 back and try to kick and leap upon him. 

 The fact that the work of incubation is 

 wholly performed by the males has been 

 proven by carefully made observations 

 of wild males in their nature homes, and 

 also of captive individuals in England, 

 which have freely bred. It is generally 

 understood that the period of incubation 

 lasts for about thirty days, and that in 

 the southern portions of their range the 

 eggs in the sets vary from fifteen to 

 twenty, while in the northern portions 

 as large a number as thirty-two have 

 been noted in a set. 



There are two other species "of rheas 

 besides the one of our illustration. The 

 range of the species of our illustration 

 extends from southern Brazil and Para- 

 guay southward through the country into 

 Patagonia. Mr. Darwin discovered and 

 obtained a specimen of what proved to 

 be a new species. It was named by Mr. 

 Gould Rhea darzvini in honor of its dis- 

 coverer. It is a native chiefly south of 

 the Rio Negro River and may be con- 

 sidered essentially a native of Patagonia. 

 The third spejcies or the long-billed rhea 

 (Rhea macrorhyncha) , is seemingly a 

 native of the northern portion of Brazil. 

 While the South American Rhea is the 

 most abundant of the three species, it is 

 also the largest of the three though it is 

 much smaller than the ostrich. 



REX 



We have heard a great deal of the 

 motherly hen, but who will tell us any- 

 thing of the fatherly rooster ? Having 

 been well acquainted with one such fowl, 

 it would seem to be my duty to spread 

 his fame for the credit of his sex. 



One happy spring day when I was a 

 little girl, I was given twelve hens and 

 a rooster, and told that I might raise as 

 many chickens as I would take care of. 

 How I did love those hens, and how 

 soon each of them learned her name, and 

 came at my call ! My especial pet was a 

 little white pullet, who was so dainty, 

 and busy, and gay, that I called her 

 "Dot," and she accepted her name and 

 all the tid-bits that fell to her share as 

 hers by right of youth and beauty. I 

 was a little shy of the rooster at first, 

 because he was such a lordly fellow. 

 I didn't know what to name him, until 

 I learned that Rex means King, and saw 

 that he ruled the other twelve fowls. 

 When I called him Rex he seemed to 

 understand that I had chosen well, and 

 came to me at once. I soon found that 

 like many another king, Rex had his 

 favorite, and it showed his good taste 

 that he chose Dot for that position. She 

 was well pleased with his attentions until 



she had laid thirteen eggs in her soft 

 nest, and felt the call of motherhood in 

 her downy breast. Then she bade 

 adieu to youthful pleasures, and became 

 the most anxious of care-takers. It was 

 all that Dot could do to spread her 

 snowy wings over so many eggs, but she 

 did it with many a nestle and cluck. 



Although Rex had most of the other 

 hens for company, he missed Dot, and 

 when she left her nest once a day, he 

 tried hard to win her back, offering her 

 the best food in his realm. This she 

 scorned to accept, but with bustle and 

 flutter would come to feed from my 

 hand. 



As day by day another hen began to 

 set. Rex became more and more trou- 

 bled. I could see his anxiety at feeding 

 time, and his call for his absent hens be- 

 came sad to hear when the last one had 

 left him for her three weeks of brood- 

 ing. 



By this time Rex and I were intimate 

 friends. When I tried to comfort him 

 he would lay his head on one side, and 

 turn up his eye, and try to assure me 

 that he f^lt less forlorn in my society. 



My interest in the hatching time be- 

 came as intense as Dot's. She and I had 



197 



