76 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
superfluous in these, which never raise themselves above 
the surface of the ground. Their food is almost entirely 
vegetable, and consists of seeds and fruits, or, rarely, of 
eggs and worms. Between the crop, which is of enormous 
size, and the gizzard, which varies in thickness and power, 
several of them are furnished with an additional ventricle, 
analogous to the structure which prevails in Ruminating 
Quadrupeds. They occupy a station in some degree in- 
termediate between the Rasorial Birds and the Waders, 
approaching the latter in many particulars of their out- 
ward form, but much more, closely connected with the 
former in their internal structure, in their food, and in 
their habits. 
Of the differential characters which give to the Ostrich 
the rank of a genus, the most important is founded on the 
structure of its feet, which have only two toes, both di- 
rected forwards, and connected at their base by a strong 
membrane; the internal being considerably larger than the 
external, and being furnished with a thick hoof-like claw, 
which is wanting in the latter. The legs are covered with 
a rugged skin, reticulated in such a manner as to present 
the appearance of large scales: they are completely naked 
throughout, even in the muscular part, which, like the 
under surface of the wings, is bare of feathers, and exhibits 
a flesh-coloured tinge. The wings are each of them armed 
with two plumeless shafts, resembling the quills of a Por- 
cupine. Instead of quill-feathers, they are ornamented 
with gracefully undulating plumes, and similar appendages 
terminate the tail. The long neck is covered on its upper 
half with a thin down, through which the colour of the 
skin is distinctly visible. The head is small in proportion 
to the magnitude of the bird, and is invested with the same 
kind of covering as the neck, except on its upper surface, 
which is bald and callous. The ears are naked on the 
outside, and hairy within; the eyes are large and brilliant, 
and so prominently placed as to enable both to obtain a 
distinct view of the same object at the same time. They 
bear a remarkable similarity to the eyes of mammiferous 
quadrupeds, and have frequently been compared to those 
of man, which they also resemble in the breadth and mo- 
bility of their upper lids, and in the lashes by which these 
organs are fringed. The beak is short, straight, broad at 
the base, and rounded at the point, flattened from above, 
downwards, extremely strong, and opening with a wide 
gape. The nostrils are seated near the base of the upper 
mandible, and are partly closed by a cartilaginous protu- 
berance. 
The African Ostrich is the only species to which the 
foregoing characters are applicable. It is generally from 
six to eight feet in height. The lower part of the neck of 
the male, and the whole of its body, are clothed with 
broad and short feathers of a deep black, intermingled with 
a few others, which are nearly white, and are barely visi- 
ble, except when the plumage is ruffled. In the female 
the general colour of the feathers is of a greyish, or ashy- 
brown, slightly fringed with white. In both sexes the 
large plumes of the wings and tail are beautifully white. 
The bill is of the colour of horn, becoming blackish towards 
the point. The iris is deep hazel. On the head and neck 
the hairy down is clear white. In the young bird these 
parts, as well as the muscles of the legs, are covered like 
the rest of the body, with ash-coloured feathers, which fall 
off after the first year, and are not again produced. 
The character of the Ostrich, like that of other granivo- 
rous birds, is extremely mild. It never makes use of its 
great muscular power to attack, and rarely even in its own 
defence. It generally has recourse to flight, as its most 
effectual security against danger; and were its intelligence * 
equal to its velocity, this resource would seldom fail of 
success. The chase of these birds is accounted one of the 
most skilful and difficult exercises both for the Arab and 
his horse, requiring at once the most unwearied patience 
and the most reckless impetuosity. The former is abso- 
lutely necessary, in order to keep them within sight, and 
to watch their motions as they wheel round in a circle of 
greater or less extent, and the latter to seize the favourable 
opportunity of dashing down upon them in their course, 
and disabling them, which is generally effected by means 
of a stick thrown with dexterity between their legs. A 
chase of this kind will frequently last from eight to ten 
hours. When taken, they evince no ill humour, and after 
a time become in some degree docile, suffering themselves 
to be mounted and ridden like horses. M. Adanson, who 
had several times witnessed the spectacle in Senegal, de- 
clares, that even when mounted by two men, they outstrip- 
ped in speed an excellent English horse. In running they 
always expand their wings, not, as has been erroneously 
imagined, to catch the wind in order to assist them in their 
flight, for they do it indifferently, whether running with 
or against the wind, but, in all probability, to counterba- 
lance their great height by the extension of these lateral 
appendages. 
Their natural food consists entirely of vegetable sub- 
stances, and more especially of seeds and the various kinds 
of grain, in pursuit of which they frequently commit the 
greatest devastation among the crops in cultivated countries. 
But so obtuse is the sense of taste in this bird, that it 
swallows with the utmost indifference, sometimes even 
with greediness, whatever comes in its way, whether of 
animal or mineral origin, partly for the purpose, as it 
should seem, of distending its stomach, and partly also to 
assist, like the gravel in the crops of our common poultry, 
