OST 
among us, gay ladies wear them in their hats; and 
with them undertakers frequently decorate their 
hearfes. Thofe feathers which are plucked from 
the Oftrich while alive, are much more valued 
than fuch as are taken from it when deadj the lat- 
ter being lighter, drier, and more fubjefl to de- 
cay. 
Exclufive of the value of the plumage of Of- 
triches, fcveral favage nations of Africa hunt thefe 
birds alfo for their flefh, which they confider as a 
peculiar dainty. They fometimes alfo breed them 
tame for the fake of their young ones, of which 
the females are efteemed the moft excellent. Some 
nations indeed have obtained the appellation of 
Struthophagi, or Oftrich-eaters, from their pecu- 
liar fondnefs for this food; and even the Romans 
themfeives feemed to entertain fome predileflion 
for it. Apicius has handed down a receipt for 
making fauce for the Oftrich; and Heliogabalus 
is famed for having dreffed the brains of fix hun- 
dred Oftriches in one difh, it having been cufto- 
mary with him to eat but of one difh daily, which 
he always took care fliould be as expenfive and 
rare as pofTible. Even among Europeans in mo- 
dern times, the eggs of the Oftrich are faid to be 
well tafted, and highly nutritive ; but they are too 
fcarce to be deemed an aliment, though one of 
them would fufEciently entertain eight men. 
The fpoils of the Oftrich being thus valuable, 
it is not ftrange that man has become it's moft 
affiduous purfuer. For this purpofe the Arabians 
train up their beft and tieeteft fteeds, and hunt 
this bird in view: and perhaps, of all other varie- 
ties of the chace, this, though the moft laborious, 
is neverthelefs the moft amufing. As foon as the 
hunter comes within fight of the Oftrich, he puts 
on his horfe with a gentle gallop, fo as to keep 
the bird ftill in fight, yet not fo as to terrify It to 
feek ftielter in the mountains. The Oftrich, 
which is capable of running with prodigious fwift- 
nefs, immediately on obferving itfelf purfued, be- 
gins to run at firft but gently, as being either in- 
fenfible of it's danger, or fecure of an efcape. In 
this fituation, this bird fomewhat refembles a man 
at full fpeed; it's wings, like two arms, keep 
working with a motion correfpondent to that of 
it's legs; and it's fpeed would very foon carry it 
beyond the view of it's purfuers, did not the filly 
creature, inftead of proceeding in a direct line, 
take it's courfe in circles ; while the hunters, mak- 
ing a fmall courfe within, relieve each other, meet 
it at unexpected turns, and thus keep it ftill en- 
gaged, perhaps for two or three days fuccefTively. 
At laft, fpent with fatigue and hunger, and find- 
ing an efcape impoflible, the Oftrich endeavours 
to hide itfelf from thofe enemies it cannot avoid, 
and either covers it's head in the fand, or thrufts it 
into the neareft thicket. Sometimes, however, 
it attempts to face it's purfuers; and, though na- 
turally one of the moft gentle animals, when driven 
to delperation, defends itfelf with it's beak, it's 
wings, and it's feet; and fuch is the force of it's 
motions, that a man would find himfelf utterly 
unable to withftand it in the fliock. 
The Struthophagi have another method of 
catching this bird; they ftrip off the flcin of an 
Oftrich, and covering themfeives very artfully 
with it, counterfeit all the motions of this animal. 
By this artifice they approach the Oftrich, which 
immediately becomes an cafy prey. It is alfo 
fometimes caught by means of dogs and nets ; and 
the ancients v/ere wont to fecure this defired prey 
O T O 
by planting fpears round it's neft, on which the 
bird ufually transfixed itfelf. 
When the Arabians have taken an Oftrich, they 
cut it's throat, and placing a ligature below the 
wound, ftiake the bird, as one would rinfe a bar- 
rel : then removing the band, there runs out from 
the opening in the throat a confiderable quantity 
of blood, mixed with the fat of the animal ; and 
this is regarded by them as the higheft dainty. 
They next flay the bird ; and from the fkin, which 
is ftrong and thick, they manufacT:ure a kind of 
veft, which anfwers the purpofes of a cuirafs and a 
buckler. 
Others, inftigated either by companion or pru- 
dence, preferve their captive alive; but endeavour 
to tame it, for the purpofe of fupplying them with 
thofe feathers which human vanity has rendered 
in fuch requeft. The inhabitants of Dara and 
Lybia breed up whole flocks of them, and tame 
them with very little trouble. But it is not for 
the fake of their feathers alone that they are prized 
in this dorneftic ftate; they are often rid on, and 
otherwife ufed as horfes. Moore aflTures us, that 
at Joar he faw a man travelling on an Oftrich : 
and Adanfon aflx^rts, that at the fadlory of Podore 
he had two Oftriches, which were then young, the 
ftrongeft of which was more than a match for the 
beft Englifti racer, though it carried two negroes 
on it's back; and that as foon as the animal per- 
ceived itfelf thus loaded, it began to run with all 
it's might, making feveral circuits round the vil- 
lage; till at length it was thought proper to ftop 
it, by barring up it's way. 
As a confirm.ation of the ftrength, fwiftnefs, and 
docility, of thefe creatures, M. Vailliant, who is 
fuppofed to have penetrated farther into Africa 
than moft Europeans, informs us, that in the in- 
terior parts of that continent he met with a co- 
lony, where the natives trained Oftriches to bear 
burdens, and in every refped to perform the offices 
peculiar to horfes. This intelligence corrobo- 
rates the relation of Buffon, who afl"erts, that the 
kings of Egypt were formerly drawn in ftate by 
thofe gigantic birds. 
Many parts of the Oftrich, we are told, are 
convertible to medicinal purpofes. The fat is 
faid to be emollient and relaxing; that while ic 
relaxes the tendons, it fortifies the nervous fyf- 
tem ; and being applied to the region of the loins, 
it abates the pains of the ftone in the kidneys. 
The ftiell of the egg pulverized, and adminiftered 
in proper quantities, is fuppofed to be beneficial 
in promodng urine, and diflx)lving the ftone in 
the bladder. The fubftance of the egg itfelf is 
efteemed peculiarly nourifliing: Galen, however, 
in mentioning this circumftance, aflferts', that the 
eggs of hens and pheafants are good for foodj 
but that thofe of geefe and Oftriches are not fo. 
Ostrich, Black. This feems to be only a 
variety of the common Oftrich. It is a native of 
the Cape of Good Hope, whofe inhabitants affirm 
that male Oftriches, when full grown, are always 
blackifh. The head and neck are brown; the 
back, the lower part of the neck, the breaft, and 
the rump, are black; and the wings and tail are of 
a fnowy whitenefs. 
OTOMO. An appellauon given to a bird of 
the lagopus kind; called alfo colmeftre; and by 
the Germans fteinhurn, that is, the ftone-hen. It 
is about the fize of a tame pigeon ; the belly and 
wings are white, with only a few brownifh fea- 
thers i the head^ neck,, and. breaft, are variegated 
wicjb 
