THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
445 
The ostrich is gregarious, associating together at times in flocks of a hun¬ 
dred or more, though they are frequently seen in pairs or even solitary. Their 
food is chiefly vegetable, to obtain which they travel great distances, which they 
easily accomplish, since no other creature is so swift of foot. When running 
they raise their rudi¬ 
mentary wings to a 
right angle with the 
body and by vigorously 
flapping, fairly sail over 
the burning sands. The 
laying season is early 
in July in northern Af¬ 
rica and towards the 
last of December in the 
south. The eggs are 
about five inches in 
diameter and weigh 
nearly fifteen pounds, 
being provided with a 
shell of great strength, 
to serve as a protec¬ 
tion against the ani¬ 
mals that would devour 
them if they were cov¬ 
ered less securely. But 
even strong as is the 
shell-covering, hyenas 
and jackals contrive 
to break them, though 
by what means natural¬ 
ists have not yet been 
able to determine. The 
ostrich , while a timid 
creature generally, is 
most courageous during 
the nesting period, as 
well as a dangerous 
combatant. To its 
powers of defence is 
added a voice that may 
well inspire awe, espe¬ 
cially if raised during 
the stillness of night, 
as it frequently does at 
the breeding season. The cry is so nearly like that of the lion that persons most 
familiar with the king of beasts are readily deceived, and all animals within hear¬ 
ing distance retreat with precipitation in the full belief that it is a lion abroad. 
The male ostrich (upon the authority of Thomas Pringle), at the time of 
breeding, usually associates to himself from two to six females. The hens lay 
African ostrich (Struthio camelus). 
