the ostrich and the cassowary.
size of the ostrich—its astonishing swiftness—ostrich hunting—stratagem of the ostrich for protecting its young—points of resemblance with the camel—its voracity—ostrich feathers—domestication of the ostrich in algeria—poetical legend of the arabs—the american rheas—the cassowary—the australian emu.
in the african plains and wildernesses, where the lion seeks his prey, where the pachyderms make the earth tremble under their weighty strides, where the giraffe plucks the high branches of the acacia, and the herds of the antelope bound along: there also dwells the ostrich, the king of birds, if size alone gives right to so proud a title; for neither the condor nor the albatross can be compared in this respect to the ostrich, who raises his head seven or eight feet above the ground, and attains a weight of from two to three hundred pounds. his small and weak wings are incapable of carrying him through the air, but their flapping materially assists the action of his legs, and serves to increase his swiftness when, flying over the plain, he ‘scorns the horse and its rider.’ his feet appear hardly to touch the ground, and the length between each stride385 is not unfrequently from twelve to fourteen feet, so that for a time he might even outstrip a locomotive rushing along at full speed.
in senegal, adanson saw a couple of ostriches so tame that two negro boys could sit upon the largest of them. ‘scarce had he felt the weight,’ says the venerable naturalist, ‘when he began to run with all his might, and thus they rode upon him several times round the village. i was so much amused with the sight, that i wished to see it repeated; and in order to ascertain how far the strength of the birds would reach, i ordered two full-grown negroes to mount upon the smallest of them and two others upon the strongest. at first they ran in a short gallop with very small strides, but after a short time they extended their wings like sails, and scampered away with such an amazing velocity that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. whoever has seen a partridge run knows that no man is able to keep up with him, and were he able to make greater strides his rapidity would undoubtedly be still greater. the ostrich, who runs like a partridge, possesses this advantage, and i am convinced that these two birds would have distanced the best english horses. to be sure they would not have been able to run for so long a time, but in running a race to a moderate distance they would certainly have gained the prize.’
not only by his speed is the ostrich able to baffle many an enemy, the strength of his legs also serves him as an excellent means of defence; and many a panther or wild dog coming within reach of his foot has had reason to repent of its temerity. but in spite of the rapidity of his flight, during which he frequently flings large stones backwards with his foot, and in spite of his strength, he is frequently obliged to succumb to man, who knows how to hunt him in various ways.
unsuspicious of evil, a troop of ostriches wanders through the plain, the monotony of which is only relieved here and there by a clump of palms, a patch of candelabra-shaped tree-euphorbias, or a vast and solitary baobab. some leisurely feed on the sprouts of the acacias, or the hard leaves of the mimosas, others agitate their wings and ventilate the delicate plumage, the possession of which is soon to prove so fatal to them. no other bird is seen in their company—for no other bird leads a life like theirs; but the zebra and the antelope are fond of386 associating with the ostrich, desirous perhaps of benefiting by the sharpness of his eye, which is capable of discerning danger at the utmost verge of the horizon. but in spite of its vigilance, misfortunes are already gathering round the troop, for the bedouin has spied them out, and encircles them with a ring of his fleetest coursers. in vain the ostrich seeks to escape. one rider drives him along to the next, the circle gradually grows narrower and narrower, and, finally, the exhausted bird sinks upon the ground, and receives the death-blow with stoical resignation.
to surprise the cautious seal the northern eskimo puts on a skin of the animal, and imitating its motions mixes among the unsuspicious herd; and, in south africa, we find the bushman resort to a similar stratagem to outwit the ostrich. he forms a kind of saddle-shaped cushion, and covers it over with feathers, so as to resemble the bird. the head and neck of an ostrich are stuffed, and a small rod introduced. preparing for the chase, he whitens his black legs with any substance he can procure, places the saddle on his shoulders, takes the bottom part of the neck in his right hand, and his bow and poisoned arrows in his left. under this mask he mimics the ostrich to perfection, picks away at the verdure, turns his head as if keeping a sharp look out, shakes his feathers, now walks, and then trots, till he gets within bow-shot, and when the flock runs, from one receiving an arrow, he runs too. sometimes, however, it happens that some wary old bird suspects the cheat, and endeavours to get near the intruder, who then tries to get out of the way, and to prevent the bird from catching his scent, which would at once break the spell.
the ostrich generally passes for a very stupid animal, yet to protect its young it has recourse to the same stratagems which we admire in the plover, the oyster-catcher,35 and several other strand-birds. thus professor thunberg relates that riding past a place where a hen-ostrich sat on her nest, the bird sprang up and pursued him, in order to draw off his attention from her young ones or her eggs. every time the traveller turned his horse toward her, she retreated ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on, pursued him again.
387 the instinct of the ostrich in providing food for its young is no less remarkable, for it is now proved that this bird, far from leaving its eggs, like a cold-blooded reptile, to be vivified by the sun, as was formerly supposed, not only hatches them with the greatest care, but even reserves a certain portion of eggs to provide the young with nourishment when they first burst into life: a wonderful provision, when we consider how difficult it would be for the brood to find any other adequate food in its sterile haunts. in senegal, where the heat is extreme, the ostrich, it is said, sits at night only upon those eggs which are to be rendered fertile, but in extratropical africa, where the sun has less power, the mother remains constant in her attentions to the eggs both day and night.
the number of eggs which the ostrich usually sits upon is ten; but the hottentots, who are very fond of them, upon discovering a nest, seize fitting opportunities to remove one or two at a time; this induces the bird to deposit more, and in this manner she has been known, like the domestic hen, to lay between forty and fifty in a season.
almost as soon as the chicks of the ostrich (which are about the size of pullets) have escaped from the shell, they are able to walk about and to follow the mother, on whom they are dependent for a long time. and here again we find a wonderful provision of nature in providing the young of the ostrich with a colour and a covering admirably suited to the localities they frequent. the colour is a kind of pepper and salt, agreeing well with the sand and gravel of the plains, which they are in the habit of traversing, so that you have the greatest difficulty in discerning the chicks even when crouching under your very eyes. the covering is neither down nor feathers, but a kind of prickly stubble, which no doubt is an excellent protection against injury from the gravel and the stunted vegetation amongst which they dwell.
the ostrich resembles in many respects the quadrupeds, and particularly the camel, so that it may almost be said to fill up the chasm which separates the mammalia from the birds, and to form a connecting link between them. both the ostrich and the dromedary have warty excrescences on the breast upon which they lean whilst reposing, an almost similarly formed foot, the same muscular neck; and when we consider that they both388 feed upon the most stunted herbage, and are capable of supporting thirst for an incredibly long time, being, in fact, both equally well formed for living on the arid plains, it is certainly not to be wondered at that the ancients gave the ostrich a name betokening this similitude (struthio camelus), and that the fancy of the arabs ascribes its original parentage to a bird and to a dromedary.
it is difficult to ascertain what the tastes of the ostrich may be while roaming the desert, but when in captivity no other bird or animal shows less nicety in the choice of its food, as it swallows with avidity stones, pieces of wood and iron, spoons, knives, and other articles of equally light digestion that may be presented to it. ‘nothing,’ says methuen, speaking of a domesticated ostrich, ‘disturbed its digestion—dyspepsia (happy thing) was undreamt of in its philosophy. one day a muscovy-duck brought a promising race of ducklings into the world, and with maternal pride conducted them forth into the yard. up with solemn and measured stride walked the ostrich, and, wearing the most mild and benignant cast of face, swallowed them all, one after the other, like so many oysters, regarding the indignant hissings and bristling plumage of the hapless mother with stoical indifference.’
the costly white plumes of the ostrich, which are chiefly obtained from the wings, have been prized in all ages for the elegance of their long, waving, loose, and flexible barbs. from seventy to ninety feathers go to the pound; but a single bird seldom furnishes more than a dozen, as many of them are spoilt by trailing or some other accident. the vagrant tribes of the sahara sell their ostrich plumes to the caravans which annually cross the desert, and convey them to the ports of the mediterranean. here they were purchased as far back as the twelfth or thirteenth century, by the pisanese or genoese merchants, through whose agency they ultimately crossed the alps to decorate the stately burggräfinnen of the rhine, or the wives of the opulent traders of augsburg or nuremberg. at a still more remote period the phœnicians brought ostrich-feathers from ophir to tyre, whence they were distributed among the princes of the eastern world.
in algeria, the ostrich is often domesticated, particularly on account of its eggs, which weigh three pounds, and are equivalent389 to twenty-four of the common fowl’s eggs. according to andersson they afford an excellent repast; while dr. livingstone tells us they have a strong disagreeable flavour, which only the keen appetite of the desert can reconcile one to. the flesh of the ostrich is decidedly coarse, but as there is no accounting for tastes, the romans seem to have prized it; and firmus, one of their pseudo-emperors, most likely desirous of emulating the gormandising powers of the bird on which he fed, is said to have devoured a whole ostrich at one meal.
a legend of the arabs gives the following poetical account of the origin of the crippled wings and ruffled coat of the ostrich. ‘about a thousand years ago,’ say the wandering tribes of kordofan, ‘the ostrich still resembled the hubahra or arabian bustard, and both together inhabited the grassy plains. then also he flew remarkably well, nor was he so shy as at present, when he avoids the approach of man with gigantic strides, but lived in friendship and confidence both with him and the other animals of the desert. one day the hubahra thus addressed him: “dear brother! if thou art inclined we will, inschalla! (with god’s permission) fly to-morrow to the river, bathe, drink, and then return to our young!” “well,” replied the ostrich; “we will do so:” but he did not add—“inschalla!” for he was arrogant, and did not bow before the might of the all-merciful and eternal god, “whose praise the angels in heaven proclaim, and whose glory the thunder in the clouds celebrates,”36 as hitherto he only had known his inexhaustible goodness, and prided himself upon his own strength and his strong wings. on the following morning they prepared for their journey, but the hubahra before starting said, “be issm lillahi!” (in the name of allah) while the ostrich remained mute, and then they both flew towards the eye of god (the sun). and the ostrich rose higher and higher, and striking the air with his mighty wings left the hubahra far behind. his heart was full of arrogance; he forgot the blessings of him who is the fountain of all blessings, and relied only upon himself. but the measure of god’s mercy was filled to overflowing, and the anger of allah was roused against the offender. higher and higher he rose, as if he wanted to reach the sun. but now the avenging angel390 of the lord approached, and withdrew the veil which separated him from the flaming orb. in an instant his wings were burnt, and he fell miserably down upon the earth. even now he cannot fly; even now thou seest his singed feathers; even now he fears god’s vengeance, and endeavours to escape it with gigantic strides. therefore, o man! let the bird of the desert serve thee as a warning example: humble thyself before the power of the almighty, and never undertake anything without saying beforehand “inschalla!” that the blessing of god may attend thy work.’ there is evidently a great resemblance between this legend and the story of icarus, but the arab tale gives an excellent moral lesson, and is imbued with a deep religious feeling, of which we find no traces in the greek.
the rheas, from their size and similar habits, have been styled the ostriches of the new world, though differing in many essential characters. one species, the rhea darwinii, inhabits patagonia, while the emu or nandu (rhea americana) is found throughout the whole eastern part of south america, from buenos ayres to the orinoco, wherever open plains or savannas invite it to take up its residence. the nandu is not near so tall as the true ostrich, scarcely rising above four feet, and is of a uniform grey colour except on the back, which has a brown tint. the back and rump are furnished with long feathers, but not of the same rich and costly kind as those which adorn the african ostrich. its feeble wings merely serve to accelerate its flight, serving it as oars or sails, particularly when running with the wind. ‘it is not easily caught,’ says the prince of neu wied, ‘as it not only runs very fast, but in zigzag lines, so that the horse, rendered giddy by so many evolutions, at length drops down with its rider.’
the indian archipelago and new holland have likewise their peculiar struthionidous birds.
the galeated cassowary (casuarius galeatus), thus called from its head being surmounted by a kind of horny helmet, is a native of java and the adjacent isles. the skin of the head and upper part of the neck is naked, of a deep blue and fiery red tint, with pendant caruncles similar to those of the turkey-cock. it is much inferior in size to the ostrich, and its wings are reduced to so rudimentary a state, consisting merely of five long bristles, without any plumes, that they are even unable to391 assist it in running. it is, however, very swift, and striking out alternately with one of its robust and powerful legs, projects its body violently forward with a bounding motion far surpassing the speed of the horse.
cassowary.
emu.
the australian emu (dromaius novæ hollandiæ) is allied to the cassowary, though differing in many external characters. both the helmet, and the long pens or quills observable in the wings of the latter, are here wanting; its neck and legs are longer, its feathers, for the most part grey and brown mixed, are not so filiform, and its beak also is differently shaped. in size it more nearly approaches the ostrich, rising to a height of seven feet, and from its great muscular power is able to run so quickly as to distance the swiftest greyhound. incessant persecutions have driven it far away from the colonised parts of the country; but it has still a vast range in the wilds of the interior. it lives on fruits, eggs, and even small animals, which it swallows entire.
