xp^: TRAVELS IN 
bird fits on her eggs during the night only ; 
and that ine abandons them in the day to the 
heat of the fun. I do not know whether the 
heat at Senegal be greater than under the fame 
latitude on the other fide of the equator, nor 
whether the oftriches of the former are fupe- 
rior in inftind to thofe of the latter climate. 
But from the C'ape, as far as the twenty-fecond 
degree of latitude, I have feen nePcs ; and I 
can aflert, that I never found one which was 
not covered by a male or a female, unlefs, from 
the death of the oftrich that had been fitting on 
them, or feme other particular accident, the 
eggs had been totally defeited. 
Wnh regard to the number of eggs, the fea- 
fon when they are laid, and the period of in- 
cubation, nothing that can be depended on is 
yet known : ' for thofe who have traverfed 
Africa prefent us, on this fubjed:, with contra- 
didory evidence only, the uncertainty of which 
muft neceflarily embarrafs the naturalift. 
What may have led travellers into an error 
is, that in the fame diftrict we fee, at: one 
and the fame time, a female which has begun 
to lay^ young oftriches two or three months 
old, and others as large as the mother. All. 
this 
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