. The popular natural history . Zoology. 38o THE OSTRICH. stridulous kind of cry, which has been likened to the noise produced b\' whetting a scythe. In the autumn the young males separate themselves from the othtr sex, and form a number of little bachelor establishments of their own, living together in harmony trntil the next breeding season, when they all begin to fall in love. The apple of discord is then thrown among them by the charms of the hitherto repudiated sex, and their rivalries lead them into determined and continual battles, which do not cease until the end of the season restores
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 38o THE OSTRICH. stridulous kind of cry, which has been likened to the noise produced b\' whetting a scythe. In the autumn the young males separate themselves from the othtr sex, and form a number of little bachelor establishments of their own, living together in harmony trntil the next breeding season, when they all begin to fall in love. The apple of discord is then thrown among them by the charms of the hitherto repudiated sex, and their rivalries lead them into determined and continual battles, which do not cease until the end of the season restores them to peace and sobriety. The general colour of the adult male, bird is black glossed with blue and purple, except a white band across each wing. The under tail-coverts are white. CURSORES. With the Ostrich commences a most important group of birds, contain- ing the largest and most powerful members of the feathered tribe, and termed Cursores, or Running Birds, on account of their great speed of foot and total impotence of wing. All the birds belonging to this order have their legs developed to an extraor- dinary degree, the bones being long, stout, and nearly as solid as those of a horse, and almost devoid of the air-cells which give such lightness to the bones of most birds. The wings are almost wanting exter- nally, their bones, although retaining the same number and form as in ordinary birds, being very small, as if suddenly checked in their growth. This magnificent creature, the largest of all existing birds, inha- bits the hot sandy deserts of Africa, for which mode of life it is wonder- fully fitted. In height it measures from six to eight feet, the males being larger than their mates, and of a blacker tint. The food of the Ostrich consists mostly of wild melons, which are so beneficently scattered over the sandv wastes. The Ostrich is a gregarious bird, associating in flocks, and being fre- quently found mixed up with the vast herds of quaggas, zebras, giraffes, and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
