338 The Bird 



being of any use in supporting his great frame, they are 

 so vestigial that they look exactly like black slate-pencils 

 projecting in a row from the little fleshy flap which con- 

 tains the evidence of his full-winged ancestors 



A full-grown ostrich was once imported to this country 

 from Abyssinia. When the native keepers learned that the 

 bird was to be sent away, they surreptitiously plucked the 



FIG. 268. Wing of Cassowary, showing degenerate flight-feathers. 



poor creature, until but few feathers were left on its body. 

 The bird was tame, and, by keeping its attention busy 

 with a basket of carrots, I inserted a piece of white card- 

 board beneath one of its skinny, denuded wings and se- 

 cured an excellent photograph (Fig. 269). This clearly 

 shows the black, curved claws on the first two fingers. 

 In this same bird I noticed that occasionally the crooked 

 forearm would be raised, the claw at the end of the wing 



