. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. CHAPTER XXXIV THE ORDER OF WINGLESS LAND-BIRDS RATITAE Lowest of the Orders of living birds is that which contains the birds which are so nearly wingless that they are wholly unable to fly, but are provided with long and powerful legs, which enable them to run swift- ly. Of these, there are a larger number of species than might be supposed, but our purpose re- quires here only the briefest in- troduction of a few important forms. The majority of the birds of this group are
. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. CHAPTER XXXIV THE ORDER OF WINGLESS LAND-BIRDS RATITAE Lowest of the Orders of living birds is that which contains the birds which are so nearly wingless that they are wholly unable to fly, but are provided with long and powerful legs, which enable them to run swift- ly. Of these, there are a larger number of species than might be supposed, but our purpose re- quires here only the briefest in- troduction of a few important forms. The majority of the birds of this group are birds of great size, and their legs are so long and powerful they are able to kick or strike quite dangerously. These are the ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, and emeus. The African Ostrich^ is the largest living bird, and in every respect it is a worthy descend- ant of the still more gigantic but now extinct moa of Now Zealand. Our full-grown male Ostrich stands, when fully erect, exactly 8 feet in height to the top of its head, and weighs about 275 pounds. The manager of the Florida Ostrich Farm at .Jack- sonville states that the average weight of adult African Ostriches is about .300 pounds. Once abundant in nearly all the dry and open country of Africa, except the Sahara and Lib- yan deserts, this noble bird has shared the fate of the elephant, rhinoceros, buf- falo and giraffe. To-day it is to be found but sparingly, and only in those regions of southern and eastern Africa wherein it has been impossi- ble for man to exterminate it. The value in America of a full-grown African Ostrich is $ ' Strii'ihi-o cam'e-lus. Fortunately the Ostrich farms of South Africa and southern California have pro\'en completely successful, and bid fair to perpetuate this grandest of all feathered creatures long. New York Zoological Park. CERAM CASSOWARY. after the last wild flock has been destroyed. If many Ostriches still remain in the Egyptian Soudan, the stringent game-laws recently enacte
Size: 1437px × 1738px
Photo credit: © Central Historic Books / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookp, booksubjectnaturalhistory
