272 THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



RATIT^ 



This order includes such extraordinary birds as the Ostriches, 

 Cassowaries, Emeus, and the peculiar Kiwis of New Zealand. 

 Many of the relatives of these birds are extinct. The Ostrich is 

 the largest bird that is known to exist at the present time. 



THE OSTRICH 



We are accustomed to think of turkeys, geese, and swans as 

 large birds; but any one of these would look like the merest 

 chicken by the side of an ostrich. Even a small ostrich is quite 

 as tall as a tall man ; while the head of a large one is as high 

 above the ground as that of a camel. 



Yet, possibly within a few hundred years ago, much larger 

 birds than even the ostrich were alive; birds which must have 

 been equal in height to an elephant, or even to a small giraffe! 

 And, although these are not found now, their skeletons may be 

 seen in several museums. 



Although the ostrich is a bird, it is not able to fly, for its 

 wings are so small and feeble that they cannot raise its great 

 weight into the air. All that an ostrich can do with its wings 

 is to use them as balancers when it is running. When speeding 

 across its native deserts, it holds its wings straight out from its 

 body. 



But, though the ostrich cannot fly, it can run so remarkably 

 fast that it has no need of strong wings. Even a swift horse 

 cannot overtake an ostrich in fair chase; and the bird would never 

 be caught at all if the hunters did not know that it always runs 

 in a curve. When the hunter is pursuing an ostrich, therefore, 

 he waits until he sees to which side the bird is turning; and then 

 he gallops across at full speed, and intercepts it as it passes 

 him. 



The natives, however, have a far better plan for killing the 

 ostrich than merely pursuing it on horseback. Knowing that, 



