Brevipennes (Short-winged Birds).
The birds belonging to this family are distinguished from the rest of the Grallæ by such decisive characteristics that some naturalists have proposed to include them in a separate group, to be called Cursores, or Runners; an arrangement which has much in its favour, although the simpler arrangement of Cuvier best suits our purpose. In certain anatomical points, and especially in their habits, the Brevipennæ differ greatly from the other Grallatores. They have wings, it is true, but they are so slightly developed that they are entirely unfit for purposes of flight, and are only useful in accelerating the speed of their limbs. On the other hand, their legs are long and powerful, and capable of immense muscular effort, thus enabling them to run with extraordinary fleetness.
The deduction to be drawn from these facts is, that the Brevipennes are essentially land-birds. This limitation of their habitat necessitated certain modifications in the sternum, which, instead of a prominent edge of bone in the centre, as in other birds, only presents one uniform breast-plate. Again, most of the Brevipennes are birds of large size, and, in certain circumstances, manifest remarkable vigour.
This group comprehends the Ostrich (Struthio camelus), the American Nandou (Rhea americanus), the Cassowary (Casuarius emu), and the Apteryx.
The head of the Ostrich (Struthio camelus), [Fig. 153], is naked and callous, with a short bill, much depressed and rounded at the point; its legs are half naked, muscular, and fleshy; the tarsi are long and rough, terminating in two toes pointing forward, one of which is shorter than the other, and has no claw; the wings are very short, and formed of soft and flexible feathers; the tail taking the form of a plume.
There is but one species of the Ostrich; it is sparsely diffused over the interior of Africa, and is rarely found in Asia, except, perhaps, in Arabia. It is the largest member of the Grallatores, generally measuring six feet in height, and occasionally attaining nine feet; its weight varies from twenty to a hundred pounds.
The Ostrich has been known from the most remote antiquity. It is spoken of in the sacred writings, for Moses forbade the Hebrews to eat of its flesh, as being "unclean food." The Romans, however, far from sharing the views of the Jewish legislator, considered it a great culinary luxury. In the days of the emperors they were consumed in considerable numbers, and we read that the luxurious Heliogabalus carried his magnificence so far as to cause a dish composed of the brains of six hundred Ostriches to be served at a feast: this must have cost some hundreds of thousands of francs. In former days it was a favourite dish with the tribes of Northern Africa. At the present date the Arabs content themselves with using its fat as an outward application in certain diseases, especially rheumatic affections; and they derive from it, as they say, very beneficial effects.
The natives of Africa call the Ostrich "the Camel of the Desert," just as the Latins denominated it Struthio camelus. There is, in fact, some likeness between them. This resemblance consists in the length of the neck and legs, in the form of the toes, and in the callosities which are found on the lower stomach of both. In some of their habits they also resemble each other; the Ostrich lies down in the same way as the Camel, by first bending the knee, then leaning forward on the fleshy part of the sternum, and letting its hinder quarters sink down last of all.
An entire volume might be filled with the fables recorded about the Ostrich. In the first place, according to the Arabs, it is the issue of a bird and a camel. One Arabian author states that it is aquatic in its nature, another maintains that it never drinks. They still assert that its principal food consists of stones and bits of iron. Buffon himself does not deny that it might swallow red-hot iron, provided the quantity was small. Pliny and (following him) Pierre Belon, the naturalist of the Renaissance, state that when the Ostrich is pursued it fancies itself safe if it can hide its head behind a tree, caring little about the remainder of its body; and some of these absurd ideas are still deeply rooted in the minds of the public.
It is certain, however, that the Ostrich is extremely voracious. Although the senses of sight and hearing are so highly developed that it is said to make out objects two leagues off, and the slightest sounds excite its ear, the senses of taste and smell are very imperfect. This is the explanation given for its readiness to swallow unedible substances. In a wild state it takes into its stomach large pebbles to increase its digestive powers; in captivity it gorges bits of wood and metal, pieces of glass, plaster, and chalk, probably with the same object. The bits of iron found in the body of one dissected by Cuvier "were not only worn away," says the great naturalist, "as they would likely be by trituration against other hard bodies, but they had been considerably reduced by some digestive juice, and presented all the evidence of actual corrosion."
Herbage, insects, mollusks, small reptiles, and even small mammalia are the principal food of the Wild Ostrich; when it is in a state of domesticity even young chickens are frequently devoured by it. It endures hunger, and especially thirst, for many days—about the most useful faculty it could possess in the arid and burning deserts which it inhabits; but it is quite a mistake to suppose it never drinks, for it will travel immense distances in search of water when it has suffered a long deprivation, and will then drink it with evident pleasure.
The muscular power of the Ostrich is truly surprising. If matured it can carry a man on its back, and is readily trained to be mounted like a horse, and to bear a burden. The tyrant Firmius, who reigned in Egypt in the third century, was drawn about by a team of Ostriches; even now the negroes frequently use it for riding.
When it first feels the weight of its rider, the Ostrich starts at a slow trot; it, however, soon gets more animated, and stretching out its wings, takes to running with such rapidity that it seems scarcely to touch the ground. To the wild animals which range the desert it offers a successful resistance by kicking, the force of which is so great that a blow in the chest is sufficient to cause death. M. Edouard Verreaux states that he has seen a negro killed by such a blow.
Man succeeds in capturing the Ostrich only by stratagem. The Arab, on his swiftest courser, would fail to get near it if he did not by his intelligence supply the deficiency in his physical powers. "The legs of an Ostrich running at full speed," says Livingstone, the traveller, "can no more be seen than the spokes in the wheel of a vehicle drawn at a gallop." According to the same author, the Ostrich can run about thirty miles in an hour—a speed and endurance much surpassing those of the swiftest horse.
The Arabs, well acquainted with these facts, follow them for a day or two at a distance, without pressing too closely, yet sufficiently near to prevent them taking food during the time. When they have thus starved and wearied the birds, they pursue them at full speed, taking advantage of the fact which observation has taught them, that the Ostrich never runs in a straight line, but describes a curve of greater or less extent. Availing themselves of this habit, the horsemen follow the chord of this arc, and repeating the stratagem several times, they gradually get within reach, when, making a final dash, they rush impetuously on the harassed birds, and beat them down with their clubs, avoiding as much as possible shedding their blood, as this depreciates the value of the feathers, which are the chief inducement for their chase.
Some tribes attain their object by a rather singular artifice. The hunter covers himself with an Ostrich's skin, passing his arm up the neck of the bird so as to render the movements more natural. By the aid of this disguise, if skilfully managed, Ostriches can be approached sufficiently near to kill them.
The Arabs also hunt the Ostrich with dogs, which pursue it until it is completely worn out. In the breeding season, having sought and found out where the Ostriches lay their eggs, another artifice is to dig a hole within gunshot of the spot, in which a man, armed with a gun, can hide himself. The concealed enemy easily kills the male and female birds in turn as they sit on their nest. Lastly, to lie in wait for them close by water, and shoot them when they come to quench their thirst, is often successful.
The Ostrich, which is an eminently sociable bird, may sometimes be seen in the desert in flocks of two or three hundred, mixed up with droves of Zebras, Quaggas, &c. They pair about the end of autumn.
The nest of the Ostrich is more than three feet in diameter; it is only a hole dug in the sand, and surrounded by a kind of rampart composed of the débris; a trench is scratched round it outside to drain off the water. Each hen bird lays from fifteen to twenty eggs, according to circumstances. The eggs weigh from two to three pounds, and are each of them equal in contents to about twenty-five Hen's eggs. They are of a tolerable flavour, and are often a very seasonable help to travellers, one of them being more than sufficient for the breakfast of two or three persons.
Fig. 153.—The Ostrich (Struthio camelus, Linn.).
Incubation usually takes six weeks, and is shared by both male and female birds: several of the latter often lay in the same nest, and live together on the best terms, under the control of one male. Levaillant remarked four females taking turns in sitting on thirty-eight eggs laid in the same nest: they sat during the night only, the burning heat of the sun during the day being sufficient to maintain the necessary degree of warmth. He also observed that a certain number of the eggs were not sat upon, but were put aside to serve as nourishment for the young ones after they were hatched.
It is a strange circumstance that the cry of the Ostrich so much resembles that of the Lion when in search of his prey, that they are often confused. Dr. Livingstone says that with all his experience he has been frequently deceived, and that only the quick ear of a native can detect the difference.
It was long a subject of reproach to the Ostrich that she was wanting in affection for her progeny. She was looked upon as the most striking example of the hard-hearted mother. Thus, the Hebrews accepted the Ostrich as the symbol of insensibility, because she left her eggs upon the sand, without troubling herself, as Job says, about the dangers to which they might be exposed. Jeremiah, too, laments over her that she is devoid of family affection. All these accusations are quite unfounded: as we have already seen, the Ostrich does not abandon her eggs, neither does she desert her young, although they are well covered at their birth with a thick, warm down, and can from the first run about and provide for their own wants. On the contrary, she keeps them near her until they are almost full grown, and defends them against every enemy. Mr. Cumming came suddenly one day on a dozen young Ostriches no larger than full-grown Grouse. "The mother," he says, "tried all she could to deceive us, just like a Wild Duck; first she ran away, extending her wings; then she threw herself on the ground as if she was wounded; whilst the male bird cunningly enough conducted the young ones in an opposite direction."
Livingstone on several occasions met with broods of young Ostriches led by a male bird, which pretended to be lame, in order to monopolise the attention of the sportsmen.
Both the male and female birds afford one another mutual assistance, as is proved by the following fact, which was related in a report addressed to the Société d'Acclimatation:—"Si-Djelloul-Ben-Hamza and his brother, Si-Mohammed-Ben-Hamza, were one day hunting Ostriches, and came upon the tracks of a family led by a male and two females. Si-Mohammed arrived first in sight of the birds, and firing, wounded one of the females. The male bird at once darted at him, and struck with its feet at the breast of his horse, which from fright threw its rider and ran away. The Ostrich then turned upon Si-Mohammed, kicked him repeatedly, and did not quit him until he had lost all consciousness, and his brother Si-Djelloul had come to his assistance."
All these facts abundantly prove that the Ostrich is not so unnatural a parent as it has been thought, and at the same time give a complete denial to the accusation of stupidity which has also been made.
In spite of its great strength—perhaps even on account of it—the Ostrich, when unmolested, is the most peaceable creature in the world; and owing to its inoffensive nature, it readily becomes domesticated. If captured young, it can be tamed in a very short time. General Daumas asserts that they play with the children, and frolic with the horses and dogs, &c. In the district of Sennaar they are reared as we do Fowls; they are left to wander about as they choose, and one of them attempting to escape is a thing quite unheard of. They accompany the herds to pasture, and return again to their home at meal-times. Kindness and caresses are sufficient to attach them to any one; but care must be taken never to strike them. They have but one fault, which arises from their voracity,—they are dreadful thieves, and devour everything they can steal. The Arabs, therefore, always look out when they are counting their money, otherwise the Ostriches might snatch some of the coin.
In all ages the feathers of the Ostrich have been the object of considerable trade: the birds are hunted and reared in a domestic state, not so much for their flesh, grease, or eggs, as for these plumes. Each bird produces about half a pound of white feathers and three pounds of black. These delicate, wavy, and flexible ornaments, so sought after by the fair sex, are found on the Ostrich's tail and wings; they have been used from time immemorial for the adornment both of man and woman. The Roman soldiers decked their helmets with them, and the Janissaries their turbans, when they had distinguished themselves by any glorious deed. At the present day there is a large demand for them. The plumes of the male bird are more highly valued than those of the female, and all are superior when plucked from the living bird.
Several Libyan nations in former days used the skin of the Ostrich for a cuirass, and even at the present time some Arabian tribes put it to the same use. The shells of Ostrich eggs, which are very hard, are also utilised; they are made into beautiful cups, which much resemble vases of ivory. The Africans annually destroy a large number of these birds; yet their race does not appear to diminish. It is a most useful creature, and too much encouragement cannot be given to the trials which have been made in Algeria and elsewhere to rear the Ostrich in flocks on an extensive scale.
The Nandou, Rhea, or American Ostrich ([Fig. 154]), bears the greatest resemblance to the Ostrich, of which it is the representative in the New World; but it is only about half the size of the African bird, and has three toes in front instead of two. The colour of its plumage is a uniform grey.
The Nandou (called by the Brazilians Nhandu-Guaçu) inhabits the Pampas of South America, the coolest valleys in Brazil, Chili, Peru, and Magellan's Land. There these birds may be seen wandering over the open plains in flocks of about thirty, in company with herds of oxen, horses, and sheep. They browse on the grass like grazing animals, searching at the same time for various seeds. They run nearly as swiftly as the Ostrich, and are well able, by speed, to escape the pursuit of their enemies. If a river comes in their way, they do not hesitate to plunge into it, as they are excellent swimmers; indeed, so fond are they of water that they take a pleasure in washing and bathing.
The Nandou lays its eggs and incubates them in the same manner as the Ostrich. They are birds of a gentle nature, and are tamed with the greatest ease, becoming very familiar in the house, visiting the various apartments, wandering about the streets, and even into the country; but they always return to their homes before sunset.
Fig. 154.—The Nandou, or Rhea (Struthio Rhea, Linn.).
The flesh of the adult Nandou is by no means agreeable; that of the young, on the contrary, is tender and sweet, and forms excellent food. Its skin, when properly dressed, is used for bags, purses, &c., and their feathers serve for plumes and light dusting brooms. We owe the perfect knowledge of a second species of Rhea to Mr. Darwin, who has given a figure and ample descriptions of the bird and its habits in "The Voyage of the Beagle;" it has been named in consequence Rhea Darwinii. There is every reason for thinking that these birds might be successfully acclimated in Europe.
Fig. 155.—Cassowary (Struthio casuarius, Linn.).
The Cassowaries form a genus of birds allied to the Ostrich, although they differ from it in some particulars—their shape is not so elegant, and their wings are even less adapted for flight; for so short are they, that they are perfectly useless even to assist in running. Their long blackish feathers are almost devoid of side fringes, which gives them a resemblance to coarse hair; their feet are provided with three toes. This bird was called the Emu by early Portuguese navigators. It is the Struthio casuarius of Linnæus, the Casuarius galeatus of Vieillot, and the Cassowary of British naturalists.
The Cassowary has a kind of helmet on its head, produced by an enlargement of the bone of the skull, and covered with a horny substance. It is a massively-made bird, in size between the Ostrich and the Rhea, and is a native of the islands of the Indian Archipelago, the Moluccas, Java, and Sumatra. It is especially plentiful in the vast forests of the island of Ceylon. The first bird of this species which was seen in Europe was brought from Java by the Dutch in 1597. It is a stupid, quarrelsome, and gluttonous creature, feeding on plants, fruits, and sometimes small animals. Possessed of considerable strength, and being wild and fierce in nature, its anger cannot be provoked without danger; for, although its wings are short, each is furnished with five pointed spines, the middle one of which is a foot long, and which are employed with adroitness as weapons of defence. Its habitual cry consists of a low grumbling, which, when the bird is angry, is changed into a sonorous humming noise, not unlike the sound of carriage-wheels or of distant thunder.
The menagerie of the Museum of Natural History at Paris was in possession of a Cassowary which devoured everything that was given it—bread, fruit, vegetables, &c., and drank seven or eight pints of water daily. In the London and the Paris Zoological Gardens there are generally several to be seen.
The Cassowary runs very swiftly, and in a way quite peculiar, for it kicks up its heels at every step. They live in pairs, and during the breeding season the male bird shows a degree of violence which renders him very formidable. The female lays three or four eggs in the dust, and sits on them alone for about a month. The young birds, when first hatched, are covered with a light down, and are without the helmet, which it acquires as it approaches maturity.
The wild nature of these birds renders them but little fitted for domestication: this is a fact not much to be deplored, as their flesh is of an unpleasant flavour, and in no other respect than as food could they be of any service to us.
The Emu, or Australian Cassowary (Dromiceius australis), [Fig. 156], is distinguished from the last-named bird by its larger size, and also by the absence of the helmet, the caruncles, and the pointed spines on the wings. It was formerly common in the great forests of the Eucalyptus, in Australia, but the clearings of the colonists have now driven it back beyond the Blue Mountains. Being very powerful, it offers a stout resistance to dogs, with which it is hunted. It can be tamed much more easily than the last-mentioned bird, and manifests some attachment to its master. It is an excellent and useful acquisition to man, for its flesh being of an agreeable flavour, is much esteemed. The few specimens which have been brought to Europe seem to have been readily acclimated, for they have bred.
Fig. 156.—The Emu, or Australian Cassowary (Dromiceius australis, Swainson).
Fig. 157.—Kivi-kivi, or Apteryx (Apteryx australis, Gould).
Kivi-kivi, or Apteryx ([Fig. 157]), so called from the Greek απτερον, "wingless," is a singular bird, bearing but little resemblance to the other members of the class. It is no larger than a Fowl, and combines the bill of the Woodcock with the feet of the Gallinaceous tribe. The shortness of its wings, which are entirely unfit for flight, is the sole characteristic which entitles it to rank with the group in which it is placed.
The plumage of the Apteryx is brown; it has no tail, and its mere stumps of wings are provided with strong and curved claws. It is a native of New Zealand, and keeps in the marshes, where it feeds on worms and grubs: being nocturnal, it does not leave its retreat until the evening. In spite of its short legs, it runs very fast, but if overtaken does not yield without an effort, using either its feet, armed as they are with long and sharp claws, or the points at the end of its wings, as weapons of defence. It builds a very rough nest among the roots of marsh-growing shrubs, and lays a single egg, excessively large in proportion to the size of the producer. The natives call the bird Kiwi. They used at one time to hunt them very perseveringly, as much for their flesh as for their feathers, which they used in making mats. Now they have renounced this work, the profits not compensating for the fatigue which it entailed. Day by day it is becoming more rare and difficult to procure. The Zoological Society of London has three specimens.