The alarm note, "tinc-tinc-tinc," of another variety of the same family has so clear a metallic ring that the bird is called "hammering iron." It has a sharp spur on its shoulder, much like that on the leg of a rooster, but scarcely half an inch in length.
CHAPTER LXII.
THE OSTRICH IN A WILD STATE.
The ostrich may be looked upon as the most peculiar bird of Africa. It is found in almost all sections, and is by far the largest of all living birds, though doubtless many extinct species were much larger. It is an immense bird, often two feet taller than the tallest man, and frequents the barren, sandy plains, such as are common in Africa.
The male is generally of a fine glossy black color, with long, loose, white, plumelike feathers in the wings and tail. These are the feathers for which the bird is hunted. They are largely used for decorating hats and bonnets. The female bird and the young are of a brownish-gray color.
The head and the neck of the ostrich are almost bare of feathers. Upon the body the feathers do not grow closely as they do upon other birds. The wind can thus blow through the feathers, cooling the body, while the covering is sufficient to protect the bird, like a shade, from the heat of the sun.
The ostrich has a keen sense of sight and hearing, and, as it is a swift runner, it is very hard to catch. It cannot fly, but it can use its wings like sails in running, and has been known to run at the rate of thirty miles an hour.
Its food is chiefly fruits, grain, leaves, tender twigs and shoots of plants, snails, and various kinds of insects. We often hear people speak of "the digestion of an ostrich;" it is rather astonishing what this bird will take into its stomach to assist in grinding its food. Not only does it swallow instinctively vast quantities of small stones, but it has been known to swallow pieces of leather, bits of glass, iron, and other hard substances.