“Oh, delightful!” cried Jane.
“It is said,” continued Uncle Thomas, “that one of the ancient Egyptian monarchs had a chariot drawn by Ostriches; and such is their power of limb, that they can readily lay a Dog prostrate by a single blow.”
“But they are very stupid birds, are they not?” asked Harry. “When about to be taken by their pursuers, they thrust their heads into the bushes, expecting that, as they do not see their enemy, he may not be able to see them.”
“Children mount on their backs, and the Ostriches run about quite easily with their burdens.”
Page [148].
“I know that such an impression exists,” said Uncle Thomas; “but it is an erroneous one. Like many other fabulous tales, however, this seems to retain its hold on the public mind, even in spite of the great increase of our knowledge within the last few years.”
“Oh!” cried Jane, who, during the conversation which we have just recorded, had been turning over the pages of the book from which Uncle Thomas read the extract about the adaptation of the Ostrich to the locality in which it is found. “See here!” pointing to the figure of an Emu; “here is a very singular bird; I thought at first it was an Ostrich; it is very like one!”
“No, my dear,” said Uncle Thomas, “that is the Emu; a bird which in some measure resembles the Ostrich, but it is only found in New Holland. If you compare it with the figure of an Ostrich, you will find that it differs considerably. Its legs are shorter, its body not so handsome in its form, and its feet has three toes, while that of the Ostrich has two only. There are, besides, some other points of dissimilarity.
“The Emu,” continued Uncle Thomas, “inhabits the plains and ‘bushes’ of Australia, but so numerous are the enemies by which they are now surrounded,—settlers, bushmen, Wolves, and Wild-Dogs, that the race seems threatened with extirpation. Not only are their eggs reckoned good food, but some parts of their flesh, though not highly prized, is still palatable. Besides their swiftness, in which they resemble the Ostrich, they kick with great vigour; and are thus able to defend themselves against the Dingo or native Dog, but the trained one, which is brought to attack them on the side, is almost certain of victory.
“There is a curious provision of nature,” continued Uncle Thomas, “in the construction of this bird, consisting of an internal pouch, connected with the windpipe, the use of which long puzzled naturalists. At length some one more ingenious than his neighbours, or better acquainted with the animal’s habits, solved the difficulty by pointing out that it was intended to enable it to escape from the inundations to which the plains of New Holland are particularly liable, and without which provision the heaviness of the Emu would probably cause it to sink and be drowned.”