202 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
The sense of locality or homing is well developed in the Rhea. After a 
sojourn of two years with me my biggest bird took a fortnight’s holiday, and 
I thought he had disappeared. I may say that all the time I had them they 
were unrestrained by fences, having the whole country-side at their disposal. 
At the end of the fortnight he returned with a portion of a wooden arrow 
sticking in his thigh, and after it was taken out he remained at home until 
he was quite well again. Ina short time he took another holiday of about 
the same duration as the first, and again he came limping back to hospital 
with a gun-shot wound in the knee. Thereafter he seemed content to stay at 
home and return each night. During these absences he must have wandered 
far away, for I was frequently abroad in the country and during these 
journeys never saw any trace of him. 
The Indian’s method of hunting the Rhea is worth recording. Experience 
has taught him that the wily bird, with its long outstretched neck and keen 
eye whereby it can survey the wide stretches of open country over which it 
roams, is more than a match for him. Accordingly he has met wariness with 
guile. Armed with his bow and wooden, barbed arrows, he starts out from 
his little grass hut in the early morn, inspired, should a north wind be 
blowing, by greater hopes of success. At the first coppice or wood he chops 
from a bush about half-a-dozen light branches about three or four feet in 
length. These he loosely binds together at the cut ends and proceeds to 
intertwine with them small lianas. Smaller and lighter twigs are then tied 
to the longer ones, the leafy parts pointing upward. When the whole is 
finished to his satisfaction he places the construction upon his shoulders. 
The longer branches and lianas hang down into the long grass, the smaller 
twigs conceal his head, and the whole effect of his cape of verdure is to 
convert him into a walking bush. Upon sighting a bird he stands perfectly 
still, if its head should be erected, and, as soon as it lowers it to feed he 
hurries forward, again halting as soon as its head and neck appear above the 
grass. In this manner he can approach within bow-shot of the bird. Great 
care and patience are necessary in the final approach, but the Indian is well 
equipped in both respects. 
How excellent the disguise is the following incident will show. One of 
the tame birds above-mentioned was one day feeding in the open in front of 
my house, about a mile away. An Indian who was out hunting under the 
“bush” disguise was seen to be stalking it, having taken it for a wild bird; 
for these often came within a short distance of the house. As he carefully, 
almost imperceptibly, approached, the bird went towards him, being actually 
attracted to the disguise by some white flowers upon it of which the birds are 
very fond. Fortunately the Indian recognised the bird in time and spared 
