426 
BLACK OSTRICH. 
in one nest,' and according to the observation of 
Le Vaillant, ten or a dozen are always placed at a 
little distance from the nest ; these are said to be 
intended for the first nourishment of the young : 
the nest appears to be only a hole in the ground, 
formed by the birds trampling the earth for some 
time with tlieir feet. As a further proof of the 
affection of the Ostrich for its young, it is related 
by Thunberg, that he once rode past a place where 
a female was sitting on her nest, wlien the bird 
sprang up and pursued him, evidently with a view 
to prevent his noticing her eggs or young. Every 
time he turned his horse towards her she retreated 
ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on 
again she pursued him, till he had got to some 
considerable distance from the place where he 
started her. 
The Ostrich subsists entirely on vegetables, 
such as grass, fruit, grain, &c. : it will frequently 
swallow pieces of iron, lead, glass, copper, and 
sUch like, with the utmost voracity ; but in the end 
such practices often prove fatal, as the bird is not 
capable of digesting them. Dr. Shaw asserts that 
he saw one at Oran that swallowed, without any 
seeming inconvenience, several leaden bullets, as 
they were thrown upon the floor, scorching hot 
from the mould ! 
These birds being very valuable on several 
accounts, the natives use various stratagems to 
procure them : they hunt them on horseback, and 
begin their pursuit by a gentle gallop j for should 
