The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-01
MABITs OF THE OSTRICH.
Popular misconceptions of the Giant
of the Bird Tribe.
FROM the Zoologjst.


From the zoologist.
The ostrich has been obsers@d with in
terest from very early times, It has fire.
quently been the subject of remark by
African travellers. and it has been do
mesticated and farmed in the Cape Col
ony for some thirty years. Yet it is re-
markabl how little is known about it in
scientific circles, and how many miscon-
ceptions still prevail as to its nature and
habits.
This article is founded on personal OBJ
servations, made during nine years OF
uninterrupted ostrich farming in the Kar-
roo of the Cape Colony and during travels
about the country generally.
The ostrich hen lays every day, and the
egg weights about three pounds; it is
a tasty and nutritious food however pre-
pared, very. rich and excellent for making
pastry and cakes. The empty shell of a
fairly large one exactly held the contents
of eighteen fowls eggs. 1t takes about
forty minutes to boil an ostrich egg hard.
The period of incubation is about six
weeks.
The old idea that an ostrich can only
leap over very low fence, or across but
the narrowest SLUT (gully) is incorrect.
The birds will, when startled (never DELHI
erately) sometimes go over a siX-strand
| wire fence nearly five feet. high, putting
one foot on one of the middle wires and
| stridipg over the other.
Considerable misconoeption prevails as
| to the manner in which the ostrich runs.
| When a bird really settles itself to run
| 1t holds it's head lower than usual and
| little forward, with a deep loop in the
neck. The neck vibrates sinuously but the
| head remains steady, thus enabling the
bird, even at top speed, to look around
with mistaken glance in any direction.
| The wings lie along the sides about on
| level with or little higher than the back
and are held loosely just free of the plung-
ing thigh" There is no attempt to hold
| them extended. or to derive any assist
ance from them as organs of flight.
Even as chick the ostrich is a powerful
| swimmer. 1 have known several birds to
swim some distance down the Great Fish
| river when 1t was running fairly strong.
The ostrich feeds in a peculiar manner.
1t losses the food into a sack in the up-
| per part of the neck, and then swallows
! II. have seen a bird toss fully a quart
of mealies Qndian corn) into this sack
before swallowing; and it is no common
| thing to see two Swallows" travelling
down the neck at the same time with a
clear intervals between them; or to see
one of them Qf of large and loose food
e. g., grain) slide back into the sack after
| being swallowed, If the bird lowers its
head to continue feeding before the food
| has Travelled some considerable distance
down the neck. The food travels slowly
| and performs a complete circuit of the
\ neck before reaching the crop. Crushed
| bones are greedly eaten; if too large a
| simple matter to cut 1t out and sew the
wound up again.
AS the breeding season approaches a
cock and hen will pair, and, having Sc
lected a site congenal to their inclina-
tfons, proceed to make a nest
rhA se ct, II. l.
more or less deep, according to the nature
OF the soil. 1t is made by the pair to-
| gether. The cock goes down on his breast
scraplng or kicking the sand out back
ward with his feet, cutting the earth with
his long and powerful nails. The hen
stands by, often huttering and clicking
her wings, and helps by picking up the
sand with her beak and dropping it irreg-
uarly near the edge of the growing depres.
sion.
When satisfied with their work land they
are easily satisfied, often too easily) the
hen begins to lay an egg in the nest ev-
cry day. During the laying period the
/ nest Is often unattended, and is not silent
on at night. A nest in which only one
hen is laying contains on the average about
hfteen eggs; but she often begins 20 sit
before she has laid her full complement
Sometimes she will lay four or five after
beginning TO sit, though not often so many.
The hen generally begins the sitting; she
Will occasionally sit for one or two DAYS
and nights before the cock takes his turn.
When sitting assumes its regular course.
the hen sits from or a. m. to about 4
p m, and the cock from p m. to about
or a. m. The bird whose turn n Is ~
be on the nest keeps It's seat until the
other arrives 10 relieve IT,, when they al
once change places.
Tn color OF each Is admirably adapted 10
the time spent on the nest. and furnishes
interesting examples OF protective colora.
ton. II Is scarcely possible 70 conceive
more effective disguise than the sober
hrownish gray OF the hen for day sitting.
and the black Of the cock for night.