Animal life in the sea and on the land . have noticed, each species that we havementioned so far is confined to a limited extent of coun-try. This is also true of the cassowary, which inhabitsNew Guinea and the Molucca Islands. The black plu-mage of this bird resem-bles the hair of a horsesmane, and its head isvery conspicuous, witha horny crest on top,while the naked throatis ornamented with redand blue wattles hang-ing in front. Its wingsare extremely small, andthey are armed with fivenaked quills. 13. The Apteryx.—Most curious of all therunning-birds is the ap-teryx, which is foundnowhere b
Animal life in the sea and on the land . have noticed, each species that we havementioned so far is confined to a limited extent of coun-try. This is also true of the cassowary, which inhabitsNew Guinea and the Molucca Islands. The black plu-mage of this bird resem-bles the hair of a horsesmane, and its head isvery conspicuous, witha horny crest on top,while the naked throatis ornamented with redand blue wattles hang-ing in front. Its wingsare extremely small, andthey are armed with fivenaked quills. 13. The Apteryx.—Most curious of all therunning-birds is the ap-teryx, which is foundnowhere but in NewZealand. It has no tail, and the stumpy wings are quitehidden by its plumage. It digs a deep hole in the groundin which to deposit its one egg, and it frequently runs tothis hole for protection when it is pursued. The apteryxseems to be a shy bird, hiding by day, and roaming aboutat night to hunt for insects and worms. 14. Why Fossil Birds are Rare.—Fossil remains of birdsare by no means abundant, perhaps from the fact that. Fig. 188.—The Apteryx. RUNNING-BIRDS. 283 most of the rocks in which we find fossils were formedin water. Now how can this fact make any differencein the number of fossil birds contained in the rocks ?Let us imagine the case of a bird, in times long past,having fallen into the water at some place that would befavorable for preserving it in a fossil condition; instead ofsinking to the bottom, where it might soon be covered withmud and trash, we know that the lightness of the birdsbones would cause the body to float, and that in this ex-posed situation it would probably be devoured by somehungry animals, and all traces of the bird would thus bewiped out. This is thought to be one reason that fossilbirds are so seldom discovered. If our imaginary birdhad been a heavy body it would have sunk. Perhaps itwould be covered with sediment, and after a very loneperiod of time it might become embedded in solid rock,and thus be preserved as the remains of
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