The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1888-04-07
OSTRICHES.

OSTRICHES.
AMUSING TRAITS or THESE UN.
CALMLY AND STUPID BIRDS.
They Are Savage at Seasons-Dying
to Spite Their Owner-Waltz-
ing When Happy-A
Domestic Scene.
The only redeeming feature in ostrich
farming in Africa, says the st. Jan Z
Gazette, is the amusement to be got out
of studying the ways of these weird birds.
Ugly, awkward, and brainless as arc
these birds when full grown, there are
few young animals prettier than an
ostrich-chick dur ng the first few weeks
of its life. 1t has sweet, innocent baby
face, large eyes, and plump round
body. All its movements are comical,
and there is an air of conceit and indc
pendence about the tiny creature while
still scarcely able to stand that is most
amusing. Instead of feathers, the chick
has rough coat of as many shades OF
brown and gray as tailor's pattern
look This is striped with shreds OF
black, the neck being covered with whit
resembles the softest silk plush. With
their growth they lose their round pet
tiness, their bodies become angular and
proportioned, and a crop Of coarse
wiry feathers replaces the parti-colorel
stripes which form their baby clothes.
The chicken-feathers are first plucked at
nine months old, and look only fit to be
made into dustlng brushes. In the
second year they are little like the
ostrich feathers of commerce, but still
and narrow, and it is not till the third
year that they have attained their full
width and softness. During the first
two years the male and femae
birds are alike; but at each moulting the
male becomes darker until the plumage
is all black, except the wings and tails,
which are white. In each wing the e
are twenty-four long feathers. During
the breeding season the bill of the male
bird, the long scales on the fore part Of
the leg, and sometimes the skin OF the
head and neck assume deep rose Co.o".
After good rain ostriches begin to
make nests. At this time the males be-
come savage, and their blooming" l.
heard in all directions. The bird in
flatcs its neck like cobra, and gives
rec deep roars the two first short and
sstaccato,n y the third prolonged. When
the birds are savage 1t is impossible tC
walk about the camp unless armed with
a ''tackey," the name given to long
stout thorny branch of mimosa. Foy
tunately only one bird will attack at a
time, and only OH the territory which by
some tribal arrangement is considered
his exclusive property. Thus, during
mornings walk through the camp the
owner will be attacked by several vicious
birds in succession, all determined 10
have his life if possible, yet all held
completely in check by a vigorous use Of
the ''tackey." When an ostrich
challenges he sits down and, tapping
each wing alternately, initiates his neck,
throws his head back, rolling it from
side to side, and with each roll striking
the back of his head against his bony
body with so sharp and resounding a
blow that severe headache seems likely
to be the result. 1t often happens lhlt
in self-defence these vicious males
generally the finest BIRDS have to be
killed.
The hen ostrich lays on alternate days,
and if every second egg is taken away
she will produce from twenty to thirty,
sometimes as many as sixty eggs. Twenty
is the largest number the birds can satis-
fac orily cover. AS general rule the
two birds sit alternately, the cock t
night, because his superior strength and
courage makes him better defender
against midnight marauders. At the end
of the six weeks of sitting both birds
are in mserably enfeebled condition.
1t has been found curious to watch olc
undutiful hen who absolutely refused to
take her share of work; so the poor hus-
band, determining not to be disap-
pointed of his progeny, did all the sit
ting himself, bravely and patiently, day
and night. He nearly died of exhaustion.
The next time this pair had nest the
cock made up his mind to stand no such
nonsense. lie gave the hen such q Sc
we're thraShing that one would have
thought she had not a whole bone left.
However, this Petruchio-like treatment
had the desired effect, for the wife never
again rebelled, but sat patiently and per.
sistently.
There is never the least hope of saving
sick ostrich. whatever its age They
are naturally long lived; indeed, it is
almost impossible to state the limit of
their lives, as they do not in state of
nature show any signs of decrepltude,
nor do their feathers deteriorate. Acct
dent or stupidity alone seems to put an
end to their career. Utterly incapable
of taking care of himself, an ostrich re-
sents being looked after by his human
friends; and when, in spite of all their
precautions for his safety, he succeeds in
coming to grief, he opposes every attempt
to cure his injuries, and at once makes
up his mind to die. If his hurt is not
sufficiently severe to kill him. he will
attain his object by moping and refusing
to eat; anyhow, he dies, often apparently
for no other reason than because his mas
ter, against whom he always has a
grudge, wishes him to live. He seems
to die out of spite. The in ury from
which ostriches most frequently die is
the fracture of leg, and this ac .ident
often is owing to the dervish- like habit
they have of waltzing when in particu-
larly good spirits. They 90 sailing along
in the bright sunshine, their beautiful
wings spread, giving them the appear
ance of white balloons, but they have an
unfortunate tendency to become giddy
and tumble down. Some birds can s.re-
verse" as cleverly as a practised human
dancer, but the accomp ishment is rare.
Sometimes they fight savagely, and in an
instant one of the bclligerents is down
with his leg snapped across and all but
Knocked off by frightful blow, and
then his owner can only have the melan-
choly consolation of making him into
soup.
A School Five Hundred Years Old.