THE LIVING WORLD. 
45i 
are stretched a little forward; their progress is slow. On two occasions I saw 
some ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz river, where it was about four 
hundred yards wide and the stream rapid. 
i The inhabitants who live in the country readily distinguish, even at a dis¬ 
tance, the male bird from the female. The former is larger and darker colored, and 
has a larger head. The ostrich, I believe the cock, emits a . singular deep- 
toned hissing note. When first I heard it, while standing in the midst of some 
hillocks, I thought it was made by some wild beast, for it is such a sound that 
•one cannot tell from whence it conies, or from how far distant. 
“When we were at Bahia Blanca, in the months of September and Octo¬ 
ber, the eggs were found in extraordinary numbers all over the country. They 
either lie scattered singly, in 
which case they are never hatched, 
or they are collected together into 
a hollow excavation, which forms 
the nest. Out of the four nests, 
which I saw, three contained 
twenty-two eggs each, and the 
fourth twenty-seven. The Gauchos 
(natives) unanimously affirm, and 
there is no reason to doubt their 
.statement, that the male bird alone 
hatches the eggs, and that he, for 
some time afterwards, accompanies 
the young. The cock, while on 
the nest, lies very close; I have 
myself almost ridden over one. 
It is asserted that at such times 
they are occasionally fierce, and 
•even dangerous, and that they 
have been known to attack a man 
-on horse-back, trying to kick and 
leap on him. My informant point¬ 
ed out to me an old man whom he 
had seen much terrified by one 01 
these birds chasing him.” 
The rhea is darkish-gray, 
taking a blackish-hue above, and 
being rather lighter below. The plumes of the wings are white, and a black band 
runs round the neck and passes into a semi-lunar patch on the breast. The neck 
is completely feathered. The average height of the rhea is about five feet, about 
the same as that of the emeu. 
Three species of rhea are, however, all inhabitants of South America, 
namely, the common rhea just described, Darwin’s rhea {Rhea darwinii ) and 
the large-billed rhea {Rhea macrorhyncha ). 
The Cassowary {Casuarius emeu) is found only in the Malaccas, nor has 
it been often seen anywhere except in the northern part of Australia. The 
appearance between the emeu and cassowary is very similar, as are their habits. 
The principal difference is observable in the head, which in the ^atter is bare of 
heemeted cassowary (Casuarius galeatus). 
