228 REPORT 
throwing at those who pursue them. They have the 
marvellous power of being able to digest every sub- 
stance without distinction ; but their stupidity is no 
less remarkable, for although the rest of their body is 
so large, they imagine when they have thrust their 
head and neck into a bush that the whole of their 
body is concealed. Their eggs are prized on account 
of their large size, and are employed as vessels for 
certain purposes, while the feathers of the wing and 
tail are used as ornaments for the crest and helmet of 
the warrior." 
This description of the bird is less incorrect than 
may appear at first sight. Its height is probably 
exaggerated, or the horses of those days were much 
smaller than ours are now. The foot has two toes, but 
has little resemblance to that of the stag, one toe being 
much longer than the other. In fighting, they strike 
forward with their powerful legs, and endeavour to use 
their talons. It may occur that when they are pur- 
sued, earth and stones are thrown behind them as they 
run, in the face of their pursuer. Their digestive 
powers are, no doubt, very great, and nothing of a 
small size comes amiss to them ; but they sometimes 
fall victims to their insatiable appetite, one that died 
on the Wimmera having its stomach filled with an 
indigestible mass of stones, nails, corks, glass, and 
other rubbish. Cuvier mentions cases in which the 
stomach was ruptured by nails which the bird had 
swallowed, or dreadfully torn by pieces of glass ; and 
one in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London 
died from swallowing part of a parasol. 
The supposed habit of thrusting its head into a bush 
when pursued is what many other animals will do 
