Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

NANDUS (Rhea Americana), WITH NEST AND EGGS.

The American Ostrich ranges south as far as forty-two or forty-three degrees; it is abundant on the plains of La Plata, and, according to Azara, is found in Paraguay. Mr. Darwin saw it within the first range of mountains on the Uspalluta Plain, at an elevation of six or seven thousand feet above the sea; but it does not cross the Cordilleras. At Bahia Blanca the latter observer repeatedly saw three or four come down at low water to the extensive mud-banks, which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos say, of catching small fish. Although this Ostrich is in its habits so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it falls a prey without much difficulty to the Indian or Gaucho, armed with the bolas. When several horsemen appear in a circle it becomes confounded, and does not know which way to escape; it prefers running against the wind, yet at the first start it expands its wings like a vessel that makes all sail. On one fine hot day Mr. Darwin saw several of these birds enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted concealed until closely approached.

In Patagonia, at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes, Mr. King several times saw Nandus swimming from island to island, a distance of about two hundred yards; they ran into the water, both when driven and of their own accord, and swam very slowly, with their necks extended a little forward, only a small part of their bodies appearing above the water. Mr. Darwin likewise on two occasions observed some of these Ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz River, where it was about four hundred yards wide and its course rapid. The note of the male is described as being deep-toned and hissing, and so peculiar as rather to resemble the noise of some wild beast than the voice of any bird. At Bahia Blanca, in the months of September and October, the eggs of the Nandu were found in extraordinary numbers all over the country. They either lie scattered singly—in which case they are never hatched and are called by the Spaniards huachos—or they are collected together into a shallow excavation which forms the nest. Out of four nests which Mr. Darwin saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. In one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining twenty were scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm—and there is no reason to doubt their statement—that the male bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the young. The male when on the nest lies very close, and may almost be ridden over. It is asserted that at such times they are occasionally very fierce and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback by trying to kick and leap on him. There can be little doubt that several females deposit their eggs in common; indeed, the Gauchos, says Darwin, "unanimously assert that four or five have been watched and actually seen to go, in the middle of the day, one after another to the same nest."

A family party of Nandus generally consists of a male and from five to seven females, who seem to have possession of a space of ground, from which all intruders in the shape of rivals are resolutely excluded; but when the breeding season is over, several of these families associate together, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to see sixty of them forming one large flock, but they seldom wander very far from their native place. In the autumn they seem to prefer the neighbourhood of streams and marshy ground, where they find fruit and berries, or they wander among the thistles first introduced by the Spaniards, but now extending over thousands of miles of fertile soil; while in the winter time they may be seen associating with cattle, sharing with them the long fine grass.

In swiftness the Nandu is but little behind its African representative. It can easily outrun and tire the best horse, not only by the swiftness of its pace, but by the wonderful skill with which it makes all sorts of windings and short cuts. The length of its usual step is stated by Böcking to be from twenty to four-and-twenty inches. When it raises its outstretched wings but still goes leisurely along, its stride is about three feet and a half; but if pursued and going at full speed each step covers at least five feet, and the movements of its legs are so rapid that it is impossible to count its footsteps. Often during the chase it will suddenly dart off from its direct course, with one wing elevated and the other depressed, at an angle of twenty-five or thirty degrees, and then with fierce speed resume its former direction, springing over ditches or fissures twenty feet across with the utmost ease; but it carefully avoids steep ascents, as over such it makes its way with difficulty.

During the rainy season these birds live principally upon clover, combined with such insects as happen to fall in their way. At a later period they frequent the plains where cattle graze, and feed almost exclusively upon grass; they show, nevertheless, a decided preference for the more nutritious vegetables imported from Europe, and often do considerable damage in the kitchen gardens of the settlers. Their presence, however, is by no means devoid of utility. One of their favourite articles of food consists of the unripe seeds of a plant somewhat resembling the burdock, which, owing to its abundance in some localities, is a serious detriment to the cattle-breeder, seeing that the burrs which it produces get entangled in the manes and tails of horses, or the fleeces of sheep, in which latter case they render the wool absolutely useless, by causing it to become as it were felted into inextricable knots and tangles, and indeed not unfrequently leading to the death of the animal, by producing sores that soon swarm with maggots, and occasion intolerable irritation. Whoever has examined the contents of the stomach of a Nandu, in the month of December, will have some idea of the quantity of these seeds that are thus devoured, and acknowledge that, were it only on account of the services thus rendered to the farmer, the Nandus deserve all the protection which they already enjoy at the hands of intelligent cattle-breeders. At all times of the year, and at all ages, they feed indiscriminately on a great variety of insects, and as the Guachos assert, also upon snakes and other reptiles. Like our Barn-door Fowls, they swallow quantities of small stones to facilitate the process of digestion. They drink but seldom, the moisture derived from dew and rain appearing to satisfy their ordinary wants; nevertheless, when they come to a pond, they may be seen to indulge in a draught, very much after the manner of chickens, scooping up the water with their beaks, and then holding their necks outstretched, and thus allowing it to trickle down their throats.

In the beginning of spring, which in the southern hemisphere is about the month of October, those males which have attained the age of two years, collect around them a seraglio of hen-birds, varying in number from three to seven or more, and immediately begin to drive all rivals from their vicinity, by formidable blows inflicted with their beak and wings. They then at once begin their courtship, by performing, apparently for the gratification of their mates, a remarkable sort of dance; with wings outspread and trailing upon the ground, they stalk hither and thither, or suddenly breaking into a run, dart forward with great speed, beating the air with their wings, and then checking their career, strut about, bowing to the female with ludicrous assumption of dignity, and recommence the same performance. During this exhibition the male invariably gives utterance to a loud bellowing noise, and manifests every indication of being in a state of great excitement. When in their native wilds, the courage and pugnacity which they display at this season is of course expended on their rivals, but when in captivity their anger seems to extend to intruders of every description. Visitors and even their keepers must beware of the formidable blows inflicted with their hard beaks, or sometimes with their feet, as they kick much in the same manner as the African Ostrich. For a very interesting account of the proceedings of these birds during incubation we are indebted to Bodinus. In the case of a pair which bred in the Zoological Gardens of Cologne, he observed that the male, upon whom alone devolves the duty of preparing a nest, did so by continually moving about while sitting in a particular spot, until at length, without any scratching or removal of the soil, a cavity was formed in which the nest, consisting of a little dried grass, roughly arranged, was placed. The female takes no share whatever in the preparation of the nest. In the Pampas, before brooding time, which begins there about the middle of December, solitary eggs, called by the natives "foundlings," are everywhere to be met with; they seem to be produced by females obliged to lay before the male has been able to make preparations for their reception. The nest is generally a shallow excavation in some dry spot of ground beyond the reach of inundation, and usually so placed as to be concealed by thistles and long grass. A very favourable locality is in holes made by the wild cattle, who use them as a kind of dust-bed, wherein they shelter themselves against the attacks of insects, until they have worn them so deep as to be larger than convenient for themselves, but exactly suited to the requirements of the male Nandu. Should, however, no such ready-made excavation present itself, the bird must perforce undertake the necessary labour of clearing a space of ground of the overgrowing vegetation, lining it scantily with dried grass, a ring of which material always surrounds the margin, and thus preparing it for the reception of the eggs. The number of eggs laid by each female has been a subject of much dispute. Azara relates that at times seventy or eighty eggs have been found in a single nest, while Darwin gives forty or fifty as the greatest number. Böcking tells us, on the authority of the Guachos, that fifty eggs have been met with, although he himself never saw more than twenty-three, and gives from thirteen to seventeen as an average number from all the nests he examined. The eggs themselves appear to be very variable in size, some being not much larger than those of a Goose, while others measure five inches in length. Around the nest, in a space extending from its margin to a distance of fifty paces, "foundlings" are always to be met with, and these appear to be fresher than the eggs within the nest. The colour of the eggs is a dull yellowish white, marked with small, greenish yellow dots, placed around the large pores. If exposed to the sun, these colours rapidly fade, insomuch that after a week's exposure the egg-shells are all snow-white.

As soon as the nest has received its full complement, the male alone undertakes the duties of incubation, the hens all retiring to a distance; nevertheless, they generally keep together, and always remain within the territory previously claimed by the master of the family. During the night, and until the morning dew has been dried up, the male never leaves his place upon the nest, but in the daytime he allows himself greater liberty, and may be seen feeding at irregular intervals, that depend upon the brightness of the sky or the temperature of the weather. Towards the commencement of incubation the male Nandu appears rather careless of his charge, and upon the slightest alarm will leave his nest until the danger is past; but at a later period he broods very assiduously, and will sometimes sit still till he is nearly ridden over, springing up suddenly, immediately before the unwary traveller, often frightening a spirited horse, and putting his rider in great danger. Neither does the brood always escape the consequences of such precipitancy, some of the eggs being frequently trodden upon and crushed, or kicked out of the nest by the frantic bird. The affection of the male Nandu for his offspring is, however, more conspicuously visible when a traveller approaches his brooding-place in a more leisurely manner. On such occasions the anxious parent hastens to meet the intruder, with wings outspread and ruffled feathers, limping slowly along and staggering in a zigzag course, using every endeavour to divert the attention of the stranger from the real cause of anxiety.

Although the sitting Nandu is by no means fond of visitors, he will not desert the eggs so long as his nest is not actually disturbed, and has even been known to continue sitting upon the residue after some of the eggs have been taken away. In South America the young Nandus make their appearance from the egg-shell about the beginning of February. Their growth is surprisingly rapid, insomuch, indeed, that chicks of a fortnight old are already a foot and a half high. Even on the third or fourth day after they are hatched it would be difficult for a man to overtake them in running, were it not that when hotly pursued, young birds have a habit of falling flat upon the ground, where they easily escape observation. For about five weeks they follow their father only, but the female parents gradually join the party until the family is complete. By the arrival of autumn, i.e., in April or May, the young birds have exchanged their first clothing of down for a suit of dirty, yellowish grey feathers.