THE OSTRICH 



27s 



ostrich and the camel. Travellers tell us, moreover, that in the 

 distance the two are really so much alike, that it is not at all easy 

 to distinguish one from the other. 



The ostrich has only two toes (£. 

 upon its foot, one of which is a 

 good deal larger than the other. 

 This toe is armed with a sharp and 

 powerful claw, which the bird uses 

 very much after the manner of the 

 kangaroo— kicking out at its ene- 

 mies as soon as they draw suffi- 

 ciently near. So fierce is its stroke, 

 and so sharp is the claw, that one 

 of these birds has been known 

 with a single blow to kill a hyaena, 

 and to rip up the body of a large 

 dog. 



The eggs of the ostrich are very 

 large; so large, indeed, that one 

 will furnish a hearty meal for six 

 or eight men; a single ostrich's egg 

 is said to be equal to twenty-eight 

 hen's eggs. The bird lays its eggs 

 in a hollow scooped out in the sand, 

 and they are principally hatched 

 by the heat of the sun. 



The parent birds never wander 

 very far away from their eggs, and will fiercely attack any enemy 

 that may happen to approach them. All round the nest are laid 

 a number of other eggs, which are not sat upon, even at night, and 

 therefore do not hatch. When the little ostriches are hatched, these 

 eggs seem to be broken, and given to them as food. 



The natives of Africa put the ostrich egg to a rather curious 

 use. After extracting the contents through a small hole at one 

 end, they employ it as a water vessel. Sometimes, too, the shell 

 is broken up into pieces, which are then carefully chipped into 

 spoons and ladles. 



Foot of Ostrich 



