426 



BLACK OSTRICH. 



in one nest, and according to the observation of 

 Le Vaillant, ten or a dozen are always placed at a 

 little distance from the nest ; these are said to be 

 intended for the first nourishment of the young : 

 the nest appears to be only a hole in the ground, 

 formed by the birds trampling the earth for some 

 time with their feet. As a further proof of the 

 affection of the Ostrich for its young, it is related 

 by Thunberg, that he once rode past a place where 

 a female was sitting on her nest, when the bird 

 sprang up and pursued him, evidently with a view 

 to prevent his noticing her eggs or young. Every 

 time he turned his horse towards her she retreated 

 ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on 

 again she pursued him, till he had got to some 

 considerable distance from the place where he 

 started her. 



The Ostrich subsists entirely on vegetables,^ 

 such as grass, fruit, grain, &c. : it will frequently 

 swallow pieces of iron, lead, glass, copper, and 

 such like, with the utmost voracity ; but in the end 

 such practices often prove fatal, as the bird is not 

 capable of digesting them. Dr. Shaw asserts that 

 he saw one at Oran that swallowed, without any 

 seeming inconvenience, several leaden bullets, as 

 they were thrown upon the floor, scorching hot 

 from the mould ! 



These birds being very valuable on several 

 accounts, the natives use various stratagems to 

 procure them : they hunt them on horseback, and 

 begin their pursuit by a gentle gallop j for should 



