Watching 
the 
Chicks Grow 
Those great eggs give no 
suggestion of the regal plumage 
that is to bloom forth from 
them, and yet in twelve months 
after the chicks batter down the 
ivory walls and emerge into the 
California sunshine, they are 
full grown. Think of it — the 
largest bird in the world, and 
one of the largest ever on earth, 
even in prehistoric times, lifting 
its head from the egg to a 
height of eight feet in twelve 
Young Ostrich Three Days Old, months! Verily, you can “watch 
Ostrich Egg and Hen Egg ’em grow.” 
In nine months from the egg 
the luxuriant plumes are ready for the factory! Every ostrich 
might well be called an upstart of the rankest sort, and yet 
this most valuable of the feathered tribe is so tenacious of 
life (in a favorable climate such as that of Southern Califor- 
nia, where the species reaches its highest perfection) that he 
vies with man in longevity. The average life of the ostrich 
is from forty to fifty years, though many have been known 
to reach the age of 100. 
Murder sometimes cuts them off in their youth, however. 
The male feathered giant is a vicious fighter when sweet- 
hearts are in question, and it is almost impossible to separate 
two of these gallants once they are dueling. 
Brood of Ostrich Chicks Enjoying the California Climate 
6 
