The Ostrich

Each of the wings is a yard long when the feathers are spread out; but although the wings are solarge, the bird cannot fly at all. One reason of this is, because it is so very heavy, and another isthat its wings are not of the right sort for flying. They are made of what we call ostrich-plumes,and if you have ever noticed these beautiful feathers, you will remember that they are verydifferent from others that you have seen. If you take a quill from the wing of a goose, you willfind that the parts of the feather lie close together, so that you cannot very easily separate them;but in an ostrich plume they are all loose and open, and would not support the bird at all inflying. The feathers are generally either white or black. There are none under the wings, or onthe sides of the body, and only a few small ones on the lower part of the neck. The upper part ofthe neck, as well as the head, is covered with hair.

Its feet are curious, and different from those of most birds. They are somewhat like the foot ofthe camel, having a soft pad or cushion underneath, and only two toes. The largest toe is aboutseven inches long, and has a broad claw at the end; the other is about four inches long, and hasno claw.

Although this bird cannot fly, it can run faster than the swiftest horse. If it would keep on in astraight line no animal could overtake it; but it is sometimes so foolish as to run around in acircle, and then, after a long chase, it may perhaps be caught. A traveller speaking of the ostrich,says, "She sets off at a hard gallop; but she afterwards spreads her wings as if to catch the wind,and goes so rapidly that she seems not to touch the ground." This explains what is meant by theverse, "When she lifteth up herself on high she scorneth the horse and his rider."

The ostrich has but little to eat in the desert places where it lives: only some coarse grass, orrough, thorny plants, with a kind of snail which is sometimes found upon them; and perhaps itsometimes eats lizards and serpents.

The voice of the ostrich is very mournful, especially when heard at night in a lonely desert. It issaid to be like the crying of a hoarse child. It is on this account that the prophet Micah says, "Iwill make a mourning like the ostrich."

In the 39th chapter of Job we read, "Gavest thou wings and feathers unto the ostrich ? whichleaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and forgetteth that the foot maycrush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones asthough they were not hers." See how well this agrees with the accounts given by travellers. They say that the ostrich is frightened by the least noise, and runs away from her nest, leavingthe eggs or young ones without any protection; and very often she does not return for a longtime, perhaps not until the young birds have died of hunger. The eggs are cream-colored, andlarge enough to hold about a quart of water. The shell is very hard, and as smooth as ivory. It isoften made into a drinking-cup, with a rim of gold or silver.

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