6 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



seasons, is such that his ill-temper gets the better of his 

 wits. There is, indeed, a well-attested story of one bird, 

 near a railway line in South Africa, who was so angered 

 at the sight of an on-coming goods train that he rushed at 

 it, hissing with rage, and of course was knocked down 

 and cut to pieces. 



As a contrast to these stories, let me give one which 

 comes from Natal and is vouched for by the Rev. R. G. 

 Pearse, of St. Cyprian's Vicarage, Durban. He and two 

 friends saw the occurrence — a very pretty instance of 

 bird-kindness. 



"During an exceptionally heavy tropical rain, two 

 ducks got carried in the flood down the Umgeni River, 

 which flows through the Town Gardens. The ducks got 

 entangled in the barbed wire and wire netting which 

 crosses from bank to bank. One of them managed by 

 much flapping of wings to free itself ; the other, however, 

 seemed to be on the point of drowning, when a large cock 

 Ostrich stalked out of the bush, and waded into the river. 

 Lifting the duck bodily out of the water, he carried it 

 ashore by one wing. It was not badly hurt, but its 

 rescuer was severely torn on his thigh muscles by the 

 barbed wire." 



What made this kindly act more remarkable was that 

 during a storm the Ostrich always kept where he was, 

 with his head buried in the sand. Also, he was by no 

 means always gentle, his quarrels and scufiles with the 

 KaflSr gardener being well-known to everybody in the 

 place. 



Like all desert dwellers, the wild Ostrich has ac- 

 customed himself to do without much to drink, and to 

 thrive even on food which would seem dry as tinder to 

 more daintily fed creatures. When even that grows 



