GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 
OSTRICH. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
' : . ;■ -J ’ V’hdel 
Bill somewhat arched. 
Nostrils oval. 
Wings short. 
Toes two ; exterior one very short. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Struthio Camelus. S. pedibus didactylis. Linn. Syst. Nat. 
Gmel. 1. p. 726. 
Two toes on each foot. 
Struthio. Briss. Av. 5. p. 3. pi. 1. f. 1. 
Ostrich. . . . Buff. Birds , v. l. p. 323 .-^>1. 29. Alb. 
Av. 3. t. 53. Will. Orn. p. 149. pi. 25. 
Lath. Syn. v. 3. p. 6. no. 1. 1. 71. 
If the ostrich was not endowed with a very hardy 
constitution, it would often find it difficult to exist 
in the vast deserts of Africa, where the surface 
of the earth is but thinly clad with vegetables, and 
where the rain seldom comes to refresh it. Pro- 
vided by nature with a stomach capable of digest- 
