STRT:THIO, Lin. &c. OSTRICH.
Bill moderate, obtuse, straight, depressed at the tip, which is rounded and unguiculated ; the mandibles equal and flexible; nostrils situated near the surface, and about the middle of the bill ; legs very long, very robust, and muscular, with only two toes directed forwards, both of them thick and strong, but the inner much shorter than the outer, the former provided with a large and blunt claw, the latter clawless, the tibia very fleshy to the knee; wings unfit for flight, being composed of soft and flexible feathers, and armed with a double spur. The sternum is destitute of a ridge, or keel ; and the muscles of the breast are so small, as not to have power sufficient to expand the wings, so as to sustain the body of the bird in the air, whereas those of the legs and thighs are very large, and well adapted for long and powerful strides. We should add to these characters, that the birds of which they are predicated are provided with a capacious crop, a consi derable ventricle between the crop and the gizzard, long blind guts, and a very ample cloaca, in which the urine accumulates, as in the bladder of other animals, so that they are the only birds that urinate. They swallow, al most without discrimination, any substance that is not too large to pass down the gullet, and that happens to be pre sented to them ; but their natural food is vegetables of va rious sorts. They are polygamous, each male associating with three or four females, who deposit their eggs in a common receptacle, each laying about' twelve or fourteen. As the genus is now constructed, only one species is known, namely, S. camelus, Lin. &c. Black Ostrich, or Ostrich. Body black, the feathers varied with white and grey ; primary quills and tail-feathers white ; the female brown, or ash grey, where the male is black. The head is small in proportion to the size of the bird, which is the largest species of the feathered tribe, weighing about eighty pounds, and often measuring upwards of eight feet in height, and as many in length, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail ; but, from the ground to the of the back, it seldom exceeds four feet, the rest of its height being made up by its extremely long neck, the greater part of which is flesh-coloured, and sprinkled with a few hairs. The feathers on the body are lax and waving, the webs on both sides being equal, and incapable of locking into a compact whole. There arc two afar spurs, namely, one on the end of the wing, and another on the spurious wing. The general aspect of the bird bears no indistinct resemblance to a quadruped, and especially to the camel, forming a sort of link in the gradation between two impar tant classes of animals ; for it is incapable of quitting the soil; the greater part of its body is covered with hair, in place of clown, its upper eye-lid is moveable, and furnish ed with long eye-lashes, and its organs of vision are more analogous to those of man than to those of birds. The conformation of its feet corresponds, in some measure, to that of the feet of the camel ; and, like that quadruped, it not only has a callosity on the breast, and another near the os pubis, but its back is elevated. The generative organs, too, are, in some respects, assimilated to those of main miferous animals. The young, during the first year, are of a cinereous-grcy colour, and have feathers on the head, neck, and thighs, which fall off, and are not afterwards re placed. These birds run with great rapidity, and unfold their wings in the course, less for the purpose of aiding their flight, than for the natural play of corresponding muscles, as may be proved by their raising them even when running against the wind, when, instead of accelera ting. they can only contribute to retard their progress. When moving in large flocks, they have, at a distance, been mistaken for a body of cavalry.
Ostriches haunt open, sandy, and desert plains, in which they can roam at large, and which they traverse in every direction, with inconceivable speed. Thus they are found in the parched solitudes of Africa, from Egypt and Bar bary to the Cape of Good Hope, and in the islands and regions of Asia which confine with those latitudes. They are less common in the neighbourhood of Goa than in Arabia ; and they no longer appear beyond the Ganges, although, according to the ancients, they once existed there. Their natural aliment is, as we have said, entirely of a vegetable description, as grass, fruits, grain, &c. and they may frequently be seen pasturing with the zebra and quagga. Yet, so blunted is their sense of relish, so keen their voracity, and so powerful their faculty of digestion, that they will gulp down hard, and even noxious matters, as wood, plaster, glass, stones, lead, copper, &c. " I saw
one at Oran," says Dr. Shaw, " that swallowed without any seeming uneasiness or inconvenience several leaden bul lets, as they were thrown upon the floor, scorching hot From the mould." It is certain, however, that the idea of their digesting iron, and other metals, is quite erroneous; and we may add, that they frequently fall victims to their un distinguishing appetite, for tliey have been seen to die in consequence of eating quicklime, bits of copper, nails, &c. They often occasion serious injury to the farmers in the interior of Southern Africa, by coming in flocks into their fields, and so effectually destroying the earl of wheat, that, in a large tract of land, often nothing but the bare straw is left. The body of the bird is not higher than the corn, and, when it devours the ears, it bends down its long neck, so that at a little distance it cannot be seen ; but, on the least noise, it rears its head, and generally contrives to escape before the farmer gets within gunshot. Ac cording to the Arabs, the ostrich never drinks ; but that which was kept in confinement at Paris drank four pints of water a-day in summer, and six in winter. Notwithstanding their love of liberty, these birds are easily rendered tame and tractable, and become familiar with persons to whose appearance they are habituated : but they frequently at tempt to push clown strangers, by running furiously against them, and, when they succeed, they not only peck at their victim with their bill, but strike at him with their feet with the utmost violence. The inner claw being ex ceedingly strong, Dr. Shaw mentions, that he once saw an unfortunate person who had his belly entirely ripped up by one of these strokes. While thus engaged, they sometimes make a fierce hissing noise, and have their throat inflated, and their mouth gaping. At other times they utter a sort of cackling sound, like some of our poultry, especially when they have subdued or routed an adversary. During the night they often send forth a dole ful cry, somewhat resembling the distant roar of a lion, or the hoarse tone of a bear, or an ox, as if they suffered great pain. The voice of the male is stronger than that of the female ; and both hiss like a goose when irritated. When they run, they apparently assume a proud and haughty air ; and, even when in distress, they never seem to be in a great haste, especially if the wind is in their favour, for then the swiftest horse cannot overtake them ; but if the weather is hot and calm, the difficulty of coming up with them is not so great. M. Adanson mentions two ostriches which afforded him an extraordinary sight. They were so tame, that two little negroes mounted, both together, on the back of the largest. No sooner did he feel their weight than he began to run as fast as possible, and car ried them several times round the village ; nor could he be stopped otherwise than by obstructing the passage. To try their strength, he directed a full-grown negro to mount the smallest, and two others the largest : nor did this burden seem at all disproportioned to their ability. At first they went at a pretty sharp trot ; but, when they became heated a little, they expanded their wings as if to fan themselves, and moved along with such fleetness that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. The Arabs have reduced the hunting of the ostrich to a sort of science, chasing it on horseback, and beginning the pur suit with a gentle gallop ; for, should they be precipitate at the outset, the matchless speed of the game would im mediately carry it out of their sight, and, in a very short time, beyond their reach ; but when they proceed gradu ally, it makes no particular effort to escape. As it does not run in a direct line, but first on one side and then on the other, its pursuers save much ground by rushing straight onwards. In eight or ten hours, or in a day or two at most, the bird's strength is exhausted, and it then either turns on the hunters, and fights with the fury of despair, or hides its head and 'tamely submits to its fate. The natives likewise surprise these birds by concealing themselves in ostrich skins, and thus approach them with out being suspected. In Egypt, greyhounds are employ ed in coursing the ostrich, and running it down, while pa tient sportsmen lie in wait behind a bush and shoot at it as it happens to pass.