358 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



slow trot ; it however soon gets more animated, and stretching out 

 its wings, takes to running with such rapidity that it seems scarcely 

 to touch the ground. To the wild animals which range the desert it 

 offers a successful resistance by kicking, the force of which is so great 

 that a blow in the chest is sufficient to cause death. M. Edouard 

 Verreaux states that he has seen a negro killed by such a blow. 



Man succeeds in capturing the Ostrich only by stratagem. The 

 Arab on his swiftest courser would fail to get near it if he did not 

 by his intelligence supply the deficiency in his physical powers. " The 

 legs of an ostrich running at full speed," says Dr. Livingstone, " can 

 no more be seen than the spokes in the wheel of a vehicle drawn 

 at a gallop/' According to the same author, the Ostrich can run 

 about thirty miles in an hour — a speed and endurance much surpassing 

 that of the swiftest horse. 



The Arabs, well acquainted with these facts, follow them for a 

 day or two at a distance, without pressing too closely, yet sufficiently 

 near to prevent them taking food. When they have thus starved and 

 wearied the birds, they pursue them at full speed, taking advantage ot 

 the fact, which observation has taught them, that the ostrich never 

 runs in a straight line, but describes a curve of greater or less extent. 

 Availing themselves of this habit, the horsemen follow the chord of 

 this arc, and, repeating the stratagem several times, they gradually get 

 within reach, when, making a final dash, they rush impetuously on 

 the harassed birds, and beat them down with their clubs, avoiding 

 as much as possible shedding blood, as this depreciates the value of 

 the feathers, which are the chief inducement for their pursuit. 



Some tribes attain their object by a rather singular artifice. The 

 hunter covers himself with an ostrich's skin, passing his arm up the 

 neck of the bird so as to render the movements more natural. By 

 the aid of this disguise, if skilfully managed, ostriches can be ap- 

 proached sufficiently near to kill them. 



The Arabs also hunt the Osirich with dogs, which pursue it until 

 it is completely worn out. In the breeding season, having sought 

 and found out where the Ostriches lay their eggs, another artifice is 

 to dig a hole within gunshot of the spot, in which a man, armed with 

 a gun, can hide himself. The concealed enemy easily kills the male 

 and female birds in turn, as they sit on their nest. Lastly, to lie in 

 wait for them close by water, and shoot them when they come to 

 quench their thirst, is often successful. 



The Ostrich, which is an eminently sociable bird, may sometimes 

 be seen in flocks of 200 or 300, mixed up with droves of zebras, 

 quaggas, &c. They pair about the end of autumn. 



