THE 0ST1UCH. 105 



imperfectly, if at all ; in fact, he seems so preoccupied that, if 

 pursued, one may often approach unnoticed. I have walked up to 

 a rolling cock and seized him by the neck, much to his surprise. 

 Just before rolling, a cock, especially if courting the hen, will 

 often run slowly and daintily on the points of his toes, with neck 

 slightly inflated, upright and rigid, the tail half-drooped, and all 

 his body feathers fluffed up ; the wings raised and expanded, the 

 inside edges touching the sides of the neck for nearly the whole of 

 its length, and the plumes showing separately, like an open fan, 

 flat to the front, on each side of his head. In no other attitude is 

 the splendid beauty of his plumage displayed to such advantage. 



The Cry of the Ostrich. 



The cry of the Ostrich is very correctly described as a "boom." 

 (The word in use among all Ostrich farmers at the Cape is the 

 Dutch verb "brom"; in English, an Ostrich " broms," or is 

 " bromming.") This cry is confined to the cock. It is uttered 

 spontaneously sometimes, especially at night ; but generally it is 

 a challenge to another cock to fight, or a note of courting to the 

 hen. It can only be uttered while the bird is standing still. It 

 is a peculiar muffled round sound, very difficult to locate exactly, 

 and conveys the impression that, if it had free vent, it would 

 become a loud roar. It is made by the bird calling, without 

 allowing any air to escape. Each cry consists of three " booms," 

 two 'short followed by one long, the bird just catching its breath 

 after each note. As no air escapes, the neck becomes greatly 

 inflated during each " boom," in the third to a remarkable 

 extent. This cry may be repeatedly uttered. At night it sounds 

 weird and wild. A faint yet close imitation may be produced 

 by a person closing his lips tight, and attempting to utter two 

 rather short "boos" with an interval of about a second after 

 each, and then one long one, allowing the breath to come into the 

 mouth, but not to escape. The cheeks will become distended 

 just as the neck of the Ostrich does. 



There are other sounds common to both sexes — an angry 

 hiss, a subdued guttural gurgle (uttered occasionally when much 

 frightened), and a short sharp note, generally an alarm signal. 

 There is also the penetrating plaintive call of chicks of all ages, 

 a liquid, tremulous, treble cry. 



