. The popular natural history . Zoology. 383 THE CASSOWARY. The nest of the Emeu is made by scooping a shallow hole in the ground in some scrubby spot, and in this depression a variable number of eggs are laid. Dr. Bennett remarks that " there is always an odd number, some nests having been discovered with nine, others with eleven, and others, again, with ; The colour of the eggs is, while fresh, a rich green, of varying quality, but after the shells are emptied and exposed to the light, the beautiful green hue fades into an unwholesome greenish brown. The parent birds sit u
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 383 THE CASSOWARY. The nest of the Emeu is made by scooping a shallow hole in the ground in some scrubby spot, and in this depression a variable number of eggs are laid. Dr. Bennett remarks that " there is always an odd number, some nests having been discovered with nine, others with eleven, and others, again, with ; The colour of the eggs is, while fresh, a rich green, of varying quality, but after the shells are emptied and exposed to the light, the beautiful green hue fades into an unwholesome greenish brown. The parent birds sit upon their eggs, as has been related of the ostrich. The Emeu is not poly- gamous, one male being apportioned to a single female. America is not without representatives of this fine group of birds, three distinct species being in the gardens of the Zoological Society. The Rhea is a native of South America, and is especially plentiful along the River Plata. It is generally seen in pairs, though it sometimes associates together in flocks of twenty or thirty in number. Like all the members of this group, it is a swift-footed and wary bird, but possesses so little presence of mind that it becomes confused when threatened with danger, runs aim- lessly in one direction and then in another, thus giving time for the hunter to come up and shoot it, or bring it to the ground vfith his " bolas " — a terrible weapon, consisting of a cord with a heavy ball at each end, which is flung at the bird, and winds its coils round its neck and legs, so as to entangle it and bring it to the ground. The food of the Rhea con- sists mainly of grasses, roots, and other vegetable sub- stances, but it will occa- sionally eat animal food, being known to come down to the mud-banks of the river for the purpose of eating^ the little fish that have been stranded in the shallows. The well-known CASSO- WARY is found in the Ma- laccas. This fine bird is notable ,., , , for the glossy black hair- like pl
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
