. A natural history of foreign birds . as down, absolutely unfit to help the ani-mal in flight, and still less adapted for defenceagainst external injury. The female lays from forty to fifty eggs at atime; and, though in the warm climates whichshe inhabits it is unnecessary to sit continually onthem, she does not leave them to be hatched bythe suns heat, as has been a general tradition inevery age. It inhabits the torrid regions of Africa and Asiaonly, and has never been known to breed out ofthe country where it was first produced. It seemsperfectly adapted to the sandy and burning desertsof t
. A natural history of foreign birds . as down, absolutely unfit to help the ani-mal in flight, and still less adapted for defenceagainst external injury. The female lays from forty to fifty eggs at atime; and, though in the warm climates whichshe inhabits it is unnecessary to sit continually onthem, she does not leave them to be hatched bythe suns heat, as has been a general tradition inevery age. It inhabits the torrid regions of Africa and Asiaonly, and has never been known to breed out ofthe country where it was first produced. It seemsperfectly adapted to the sandy and burning desertsof those continents; and delights in wild solitarytracts, where few vegetables adorn the face ofnature, and where the rain seldom descends torefresh it. Indeed it is asserted that the ostrichnever drinks, and the place of its habitation seemsto give a sanction to this opinion. They feed in-discriminately on every thing eatable, nor are theylikely to be at a loss for provisions as long as eventhe sterile sand on which they walk remains. .5. THE CASSOWARY. The cassowary is next in size to the ostrich, butof a different nature. His wings are hardly per-ceptible, being very short, and entirely concealedunder the plumage. The general tint of his fea-thers is brown, with some spots of vermilion red;his head is small and depressed, with a hornycrown ; the head and neck are deprived of feathers,and only set with a kind of hairy down. Thecassowary eats indiscriminately whatever comesin his way, and does not seem to have any sort ofpredilection for any kind of food. He is a nativeof the southern parts of India. A S 6
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectbirdspictorialwork
