NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 163 
NORTH AFRICAN OSTRICH: MALE. 
their plumes in enhancing the attractiveness of woman. 
And surely, no plume-bearing bird ever enlisted in a better 
cause, or on a more satisfactory basis; for to-day the plume. 
crop is being grown and plucked and marketed with almost 
as much certainty as the annual crop of wool. In the 
United States, the most important plume-producing ostrich 
farms are situated in southern California and Arizona, 
where the industry is quite successful. So valuable are the 
adult birds that it 1s possible to purchase specimens im- 
ported from Africa for less money than would be necessary 
to procure them in the United States. 
A full-grown male African Ostrich stands 8 feet in height, 
and weighs about 300 pounds. Its value on arrival in New 
York, before acclimatization and moulting into perfect plu- 
mage, is from $200 to $250. The female lays about 90 eggs 
in a year, each of which is equal to about 20 hen’s eggs. 
The time of ineubation is about 40 days. In captivity only 
about 60 per cent of the eggs hatch, and of those not more 
than one-half live to attain full maturity. The plumage of 
immature birds and adult females is gray, but that of the 
adult male is black on the body, and white on the wings and 
tail. 
The South African Ostrich, (Struthio australis), differs 
from the species found in the north. The color of the 
naked skin of its neck and thighs, and the front scales on 
