The Ostrich stands about eight feet high, being the largest of existing birds; it frequents sandy wastes and dry arid localities, such as are found in the Sahara and the plains and valleys of Southern Africa, while districts studded with low bushes are not unfrequently tenanted. Though the fable of the head being hidden to avoid detection is of course devoid of foundation, this species is timid and wild in its native haunts, and being keen-sighted as well as wary, gives an impression of great restlessness. From the fact that a single stride is said to cover twenty-five feet or more, it will readily be understood that the speed is very great, exceeding that of a galloping horse; but, owing to its habit of running in a curve, it is generally possible to intercept the bird's path at a distance from the point where it started. In motion the head is held forward, and the wings are outspread, while both beak and feet are used as weapons of defence when capture is imminent, the latter delivering strong sideways kicks, which make close quarters very dangerous. Forty or fifty individuals may at times be seen in company; the usual parties, however, consist of five or six at most, especially during the breeding season, when the polygamous cock escorts a flock of several hens, obtained by battle or allured by courting performances earlier in the season. A liking for the companionship of zebras, hartebeests and other antelopes, has been noticed by various observers. The cry is said to be hoarse and mournful, resembling the roar of a lion or the lowing of an ox; but Ostriches are, as a rule, decidedly silent. In a state of nature the food consists chiefly of herbage, including seeds and fruits; in captivity the diet is of every description, and even in a wild condition small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects are eaten, with a quantity of grit to aid digestion. In confinement the birds become very tame, and will then swallow bones, nails, and the like–in fact almost anything they can pick up. They can exist for a long time without water, but drink regularly when opportunity offers; they show a liking for salt, and will bathe in the sea or in rivers, immersed up to the neck. The hens belonging to one cock lay in the same nest, which is a fairly shallow excavation dug in sand or dry soil, and surrounded by the material thrown out during the process, or more rarely by an edging of grass. The spot is hard to discover in the desert, the stride being too long for tracks to be of much assistance. More than thirty yellowish-white eggs are sometimes deposited within the pit in circular arrangement, and many more are dropped around, to serve, it is asserted, for food for the newly-hatched young; in the wild state, however, the average number is probably less. The contents, equal to those of some two dozen hens' eggs, are used for food by the natives, the shells forming convenient pots for water and so forth. The cock undertakes almost the whole duty of incubation, being occasionally relieved by the hens during the daytime;[[17]] but when the sun is hot no brooding is necessary, though a covering of sand is superposed to guard the spot from the depredations of marauders. The chicks, which run from the shell, are hatched in six or seven weeks, and are accompanied by both parents, the male often counterfeiting wounds to draw away the intruder, circling around with drooping wings or throwing himself down as if in extremities.
Ostriches were well known to the ancients, who used the plumes for ornament, as we do; these were considered emblems of justice from the equality of the two webs, or were worn in token of victory, as is still done in some parts of Africa. The words of Aristotle–who was followed by Pliny in the statement that the Ostrich was part quadruped, part bird–combine with those of Xenophon to bear witness to this knowledge, while monuments, inscriptions, and even the Bible tell the same tale. In the Sahara and elsewhere these birds are hunted with horses and camels, being stalked or ridden down by means of fresh relays of beasts; the Namaquas draw a cordon round them; the Bushman, concealed in sand or disguised in skins, shoots them with poisoned arrows; while the lasso, pitfall, or other device are used in particular districts. Space will not permit a detailed account of the Ostrich farms of modern Africa, so well described in Messrs. de Mosenthal and Harting's Ostriches and Ostrich-Farming, and other books; but it may be mentioned that the tribes of the north of that continent have long been in the habit of domesticating the bird, that the value of the sales in South Africa is not far from a million pounds yearly, and that the plumes are plucked or, preferably, cut about twice a year, the adults yielding the finest feathers. The flesh is coarse, and of little use for food.
II. RHEAE.
Fam. Rheidae.–The Rheas, or Nandus, have the head, neck, and bill much like those of Ostriches, the maxilla being somewhat more rounded and terminating in a nail-like process; the metatarsus is also similar and equally stout in proportion, but the toes are three in number in place of two, the mid-phalanges being shortened and the terminal furnished with decided claws. In Rhea darwini alone the metatarsi are mainly reticulated instead of scutellated anteriorly, and have the upper portion feathered. The bones of the wing are comparatively well developed, the feathers being slender but not ornamental, while there is no apparent tail. The furcula is wanting, as is the aftershaft to the feathers, but the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial with one pair of syringeal muscles, a condition absolutely unique among the Ratitae. The head and neck are feathered, only the lores, orbits, and ear-openings being naked, and of these the latter are surrounded by bristles.
Rhea americana, the so-called American Ostrich, the Ema of the Brazilians, the Avestruz, Nandú, or Chueké of Argentina, is found from Bolivia, Paraguay, and South Brazil to the Rio Negro, if not further; it is brownish-grey with blackish crown, nape, and breast, white thighs and abdomen, and yellowish neck. The sub-species R. macrorhyncha of North-East Brazil is darker, with longer bill and more slender metatarsi. R. darwini, which occurs south of the Rio Negro, and up the Andes to Tarapaca, is buffish-brown, with whiter underparts and white margins to the feathers of the wings and back. Hens are not so dark, and Mr. Hudson says[[18]] that in R. darwini the young are dusky grey and are hatched with the legs feathered to the toes. Rheas are shorter than Ostriches by about a couple of feet, R. americana being the largest form; the feathers are much rounded, broad, and very soft. Fossil remains occur in the Upper Tertiary or quite recent deposits of South America.
Fig. 9.–Nandu. Rhea americana. × 1⁄20.
The members of this family find their favourite haunts on the treeless flats of the Argentine pampas, the scrub-covered plains of Patagonia, or the dry open Sertões of Brazil, where their acute vision enables them to detect the approach of enemies from afar. Small flocks of from three to seven individuals are met with at certain seasons, and parties of twenty or thirty at other times–often with deer or guanacos–so it would appear that, as in the case of the Ostrich, larger companies are formed after the young are able to provide for themselves. The birds become exceedingly tame when not molested, but when danger threatens they run at great speed, doubling upon their pursuers constantly, or crouching down among bushes or other cover, if they think they can escape observation. In the latter case they will lie closely until almost trodden upon, and may be shot before they rise by the hunter who cautiously approaches their hiding-place, as the head is usually visible above the surrounding vegetation. When moving at full pace the wings have normally a somewhat drooping position, but they are raised alternately above the back–apparently to aid progress–when fresh exertions are necessary. Mr. Hudson tells us[[19]] that Darwin's Rhea "carries its neck stretched forward, which makes it seem lower in stature than the allied species." The diet consists chiefly of grass, roots, and seeds, but berries of Empetrum are a favourite food, and lizards, insects, worms, and molluscs are said to be eaten, together with hard substances to promote digestion. Nandus take readily to the water, and can swim across a river several hundred yards wide, the body being hardly visible. In spring the cock utters a deep, resonant, booming noise, a loud hiss being not uncommonly heard also; while at that season the rival males attack each other viciously with their beaks, trampling down the ground in their passion, but not generally using their feet, as they do when wounded. The hens secured by each of the cocks lay together in a mere depression in the soil with very little, if any, lining; the eggs numbering from twenty to thirty, or exceptionally more, besides those scattered about outside the nest. Here again Mr. Hudson is our authority for stating[[20]] that the eggs of R. americana are golden yellow when fresh, those of R. darwini deep rich green; both however fade quickly to a whitish colour. The male incubates very closely for about six weeks, often taking up his position, as the Ostrich does, before the final egg is laid; he afterwards attends upon the young, and charges intruders who seem dangerous, with outstretched wings and beak. Rheas may be captured by riding after them in a semicircle, which closes upon them as they go, or by means of long-winded hounds; but the most usual method is that of hurling the "bolas" or leaden balls connected by leather thongs, which wind around the bird's neck or legs, and thereby hamper its movements or throw it down. The feathers, though inferior to Ostrich plumes, are much used for brooms and the like, and are said to be called "Vautour" in the trade. The flesh is very poor. These birds have bred both on the Continent and in Britain.
III. MEGISTANES.
The Megistanes comprise the Casuariidae or Cassowaries, and the Dromaeidae or Emeus, the following being the chief peculiarities of the group. The wings are quite rudimentary; the aftershaft of the contour feathers is extremely large, so that they appear to be double; three front toes are present, with shortened mid-phalanges and large claws; and the two clavicles do not meet. The lack of ornamental wing- or tail-plumes, and the hair-like nature of the coat is also characteristic, while, as opposed to Rhea, there is no indication of syringeal muscles. Within the group itself the Cassowaries are distinguished from the Emeus by the points next to be mentioned. The former have a compressed keeled beak and a large casque of bony tissue upon the bare head, the greater part of the neck being also naked and in most cases wattled; the remiges are reduced to thick black barbless quills from four to six in number, and the inner toe has a particularly long sharp claw. Emeus, on the contrary, have a broad depressed beak, short feathers on the head and neck, no helmet, wattles, or spines on the wing, and an ordinary claw on the inner toe. Both Families have long necks, stout metatarsi covered with coarse roundish scales, and toes padded below; the tibia being nearly, if not quite, covered by the plumage.