. A book of birds. Birds. THE OSTRICH-LIKE BIRDS 29 which, solid though it looks, is really a very frail structure, consisting of a mass of delicate lace-work of bone encased in a thin sheath of horn. The general appearance of the Cassowary is well seen in the figure on Plate I. fig. 3. The curious spikes projecting from the sides of the body are all that remain of wing- feathers, while the wing as a whole is ex- tremely degenerate and very small. The hand is so reduced that it cannot be bent back at the wrist, as in birds that fly, and the thumb is quite lost, as in the Emeu. The only finger
. A book of birds. Birds. THE OSTRICH-LIKE BIRDS 29 which, solid though it looks, is really a very frail structure, consisting of a mass of delicate lace-work of bone encased in a thin sheath of horn. The general appearance of the Cassowary is well seen in the figure on Plate I. fig. 3. The curious spikes projecting from the sides of the body are all that remain of wing- feathers, while the wing as a whole is ex- tremely degenerate and very small. The hand is so reduced that it cannot be bent back at the wrist, as in birds that fly, and the thumb is quite lost, as in the Emeu. The only finger that is left is provided with a long claw, the use of which is unknown. Cassowaries are further remarkable for the fact that the inner toe bears an enormous claw, which is used in fighting—forming indeed a very formidable weapon. Both sexes are coloured alike. Altogether fifteen different species of Casso- waries are known, one of which exceeds the Emeu in size, standing as much as six feet high. The Emeu and Cassowary enjoy the dis- tinction of differing from all other birds in that the feathers are double—that is to say, each has two shafts—and these are of equal length (see fig. 11). The Rhea, or " Nandu " (Plate I. fig. 2), of South America, though smaller than either the Emeu or the Cassowary, is yet a very large bird. Among other things, it is remarkable for the relatively large size of the wings, which are extended by the birds when running, to act as sails, though they are far too feeble to raise the body off the ground. The loose structure of the feathers, indeed, forms another bar to anything like flight. Both sexes are alike in colour, and there is little difference in the plumage of the young and fully adult II.—Feather of Cassowary showing the large after=shaft marked Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrati
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1908
