. Cyclopedia of farm animals. Domestic animals; Animal products. OSTRICH OSTRICH 511 OSTRICH. Struthio, spp. Struthionidce. Figs. 498-500. By Watson Pickrell. The ostrich is the large African running-bird. It has been successfully domesticated in America and elsewhere for its feathers. Most of the ostriches in America are from South Africa, and are of the species Struthio australis. There are a few from North Africa of the species S. Camelus. Description. The ostrich is very much the largest of any existing bird. A full-grown fat ostrich will weigh 375 to 450 pounds, and will stand eight feet
. Cyclopedia of farm animals. Domestic animals; Animal products. OSTRICH OSTRICH 511 OSTRICH. Struthio, spp. Struthionidce. Figs. 498-500. By Watson Pickrell. The ostrich is the large African running-bird. It has been successfully domesticated in America and elsewhere for its feathers. Most of the ostriches in America are from South Africa, and are of the species Struthio australis. There are a few from North Africa of the species S. Camelus. Description. The ostrich is very much the largest of any existing bird. A full-grown fat ostrich will weigh 375 to 450 pounds, and will stand eight feet high, but can easily reach to a height of ten or eleven feet. "There are no true down feathers but the contour-feathers are soft and lax, with free barbs and no aftershaft, and are distributed uniformly over the skin. On the body the plumage is black or tdackish, with the quill plumes of the wings and tail white. The head and neck are nearly and the legs quite ; Wings and tail are not promi- nent, and the former are not used for flying but are of much assistance in running. The plumes are very pretty. The neck is long, upright and curved, and the head small. The speed of the bird is great. History. About the middle of the nineteenth century, the inhabitants of the South African colonies saw the ostriches fast disappearing. They enacted laws restricting their slaughter, and later passed laws prohibiting their slaughter altogether. For ages there have been ostriches kept in captivity in menageries and zoological gardens. About 1865, persons in South Africa began to domesticate them for feathers. Before they were domesticated, nearly all the ostrich feathers of commerce were taken from dead birds. In America.—The first ostriches imported for farming in America were introduced by Doctor Sketchley in 1882. He left South Africa with two hundred, and landed in California with twenty-two. In 1884, fifty-five ostriches were imported, and in 1886, forty-four more, all f
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