STRUTHIONIDiE. 603 



4:th, Latitores. — Rails and Water-hens. 

 B. — With the young helpless at birth. 



5th, Cultirostres. — Storks, Herons and Ibises. 



Tribe — Struthiones, Latham. 



Brevipennes, Cuvier, — Cursores, 111. 



Of large size. Some with three toes, others with only two ; 

 wings undeveloped. 



This tribe contains the Ostrich, Emeu, Cassowary, and Apteryx. 

 They are the giants of the Bird kingdom, and by their massive 

 form and size, as well as in certain points of structure, they 

 approach the nearest to Mammalia, and, at the same time, may, 

 in some respects ( with Parker ) be called ' unspecialized forms,' 

 but hardly 'low and embryonic' They are divided into two 

 families, Struthionidos and Apterygidcs. 



The well known Ostrich of Africa, Struthio^camelus, L., is the 

 type of the former. It has the wings rudimentary, consisting 

 of a number of large decomposed feathers, so well known as 

 ornaments. The tail-feathers resemble those of the wings, the 

 head and neck are almost bare, and the plumage lax, with the 

 supplementary plume well developed. The bill resembles that 

 of Bustards, and there are only two toes, the inner front toe 

 being absent. The sternum is short, broad, and without a keel, 

 the bones of the pubis unite as in Mammals, and the bones are 

 quite destitute of air cells. The legs are very strong and mus- 

 cular. They resemble Gallinaceous birds closely in their enormous 

 crop, strong gizzard, long intestinal canal, and long coeca ; and 

 they feed on various vegetable substances, often swallowing 

 stones and pieces of metaL They have moreover, a large sort of 

 urinary bladder or pouch, and are the only birds that urinate. 

 The penis of the male bird is long and often protruded. The 

 Ostrich is polygamous, and the attendant females of one male 

 deposit their eggs often to the number of twenty or thirty together, 

 in the sand, where they are hatched chiefly by the heat of the sun, 

 assisted by the male. The young, of course, run as soon as 

 hatched. The Ostrich passes over from Africa into Arabia, and I 

 have heard it stated that it is believed, many years ago, to have 

 extended along the shores of the Sea, as far as Sindh. 



