II 
II 
J' 
GRALLiE. 233 
and gizzard, voluminous intestines, and long ccEca, also a vast receptacle in which the urine accumu- 
lates, as in a bladder ; they are accordingly the only birds that urinate. The penis is very long, and 
often protruded. 
But two species are known, each of which might form a separate genus, [and they are now generally recognized 
as such, an additional species having been discovered of one of them.] 
The Ostrich of the Eastern Continent {Str. camelus, Lin.). — Only 
two toes to each foot, the outer of which, shorter by one-half than the 
other, is destitute of a nail. This bird, celebrated from the most 
remote antiquity, and very numerous in the sandy deserts of Arabia 
and the whole of Africa, attains the height of six feet and a half. It 
lives in large flocks, lays eggs which weigh nearly three pounds each, 
and which, in very hot climates, it leaves to be hatched by the solar 
heat, but, in extra-tropical regions, carefully incubates and de- 
fends them with courage. It subsists on grain and herbage, and its 
taste is so obtuse, that it swallows indifferently pebbles, pieces of 
iron, copper, &c. [its gizzard always containing a surprising quantity 
of small stones, which are doubtless taken for the purpose of assist- 
ing in the trituration of the food.] When pursued, it dashes stones 
behind it with great force. No animal can overtake it in the chace. 
The Nandou {Str. rhea, Lin. [Rhea americana, Auctorum]), or 
Ostrich of America, is about half the size of the African Ostrich, and 
j| Fitf. 113.— Foot of Ostrich. more thinly covered with feathers : it is also distinguished by pos- 
j! sessing three toes to each foot, all of which are furnished with claws. Its plumage is greyish, inclining to brown 
j above, with a black line descending along the neck of the male. Is not less abundant in South America than the 
I other is in Africa. It is easily tamed when taken young, and its flesh during youth is eaten. [The tarsi of this 
I bird are scutellated. 
I A second South American species (Rh. Darwinii, Gould ; Rh. pennata, D’Orbigny), is one fifth less in size, with 
jj reticulated tarsi : it has also a more densely plumed wing, the feathers of which are broader, and are all terminated 
!j by a band of white. The bill is shorter than the head, and the tarsi are plumed for several inches below the joint. 
Inhabits Patagonia, where it is rare. Mr. Darwin observed that the Nandous swim with facility]. 
The Cassowaries {Casuarius, Brisson)— 
i Have wings still shorter than those of the Ostriches, and quite useless in aiding progression. 
il Their feet have three toes, all furnished with nails ; and the barbs of their feathers are so little fringed 
with barhules, that at a distance they resemble pendent hair. [The accessory plume of the feathers 
! (which in the Ostrich and Nandou does not exist at all) attains its maximum of developement, so that 
j two equal stems appear to grow from the same quill, while in the restricted Cassowary there is even a 
! third in addition.] 
Two species likewise occur of this genus, each of which might also be elevated to the rank of a genus, [now 
generally accepted]. 
The Galeated Cassowary {Str. casuarius, Lin. ; [Casuarius Erueu, Auctorum] ).— The beak laterally compress d, 
and head surmounted with a bony prominence, invested with a horny substance ; the skin of the head and neck 
of an azure blue and flame-colour, with pendent caruncles, analogous to those of the Turkey : wings furnished 
with some rigid barbless stalks, which are employed as weapons in combat : the nail of the inner toe much 
the strongest. It is the largest species of bird, next to the Ostrich, from which it differs considerably in its 
anatomy; for it has short intestines and 
small cceca, wants the intermediate stomach 
between the crop and gizzard, and its cloaca 
does not proportionally exceed that of other 
birds. It lives on fruit and eggs, but not 
on grain ; and lays dark-green eggs, few in 
number, which, like the Ostrich, it aban- 
dons to the heat of the sun. It is found in 
different islands of the Indian Archipelago. 
The Emeu of New Holland {Casuarius 
Novce Hollandice, Latham, [Dromaius Nov<e 
Hollandiee, Vieillot] ). — A depressed beak, 
with no casque on the head, nor naked 
space except around the eye; the plumage 
brown, more dense, and the feathers more 
barbed; no caruncles, nor spurs to the Fig. ii4.-stemum of Emeu. 
wing ; and the nails of the toes nearly equal. Its flesh resembles beef : it is swifter than the fleetest Greyhound, 
and the young are striped brown and white. [Either this or more probably an allied species has been extirpated 
