Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-10-31
SOME wINaLEss BIRDS.
Host Curious Of the Lot is Native Of New
Zealand.

L. ~ D y D.
There exist all grades in the spread
of wings between t,at of the condor,
which Is four times the length Of the
body, whereby the bird is able to rise
to the height of nearly $4,000 feet, and
the little winglets Of the aux, which
are Of no use to 1t. The penguins have
still Smaller wings, which are nothing
more than short, fiattened stumps, with
out proper feathers and covered with q
fine, hair-llke down, which might be
taken for scales. Another group Of
birds exists, called appropriately brevi-
pennies, the wings of which are so
poorly developed as to be wholly un-
suited for flight. Among them are
some gigantic birds, and also some
that have no visible wings on the out
side Of their bodies, and may, there
fore, be, properly called wingless. The
ostrich is member of this group.
With its bare, callous head and short
bill, Its long, .featherless neck and its
massive body, supported by long, half
bare legs, ending In two large toes; its
very short wings, formed Of soft and
flexible feathers. and its plume-shaped
tall, 1t presents very special appear
ance among birds. The nandous, the
American representatives of the os-
trich, have still shorter wings, which
have no remigia at all, and terminate
IN a horny appendage, and they have
no tail feathers.
The cassowary and the emu also re-
remble the ostrich in many points,
| but their wings are still more reduced
than those Of the nandou. They are
only slightly distinct, and cannot be
seen when the bird holds them close
up to It's body. In the apteryx, the
name Of which, from the Greek, means
without wings, the organs of flight are
hardly apparent, and consist simply Of
a very short stump bearing thick and
hooked nail. The apteryx, which Is al
30 called kiwi, native of New Zea-
land, is the most singular Of living
bEds. The neck and the body arc
continuous, and the moderately sized
head is furnished with a long beak re-
sembling that OF the ibis. Having long
hairs similar to the mustaches Of cats
at Its base, 1t is different from the bills
OF alI other existing birds in possessing
nostrIls that open ut It's upper point.
Although the apteryx cannot fly, 1t
runs very fast, despite the shortness Of
Its legs and can defend itself very eff
fectively against assailants by the aid
Of its long g-nailed and sharp nailed
feet. The tail Is absent, like the
wings. The very plant feathers are
extremely curious, of the shape, of a
lance-head, pendent, loose, silky, with
Jagged barbs, and increase In length
as they go back from the neck. The
bird is of the size Of q. fowl, and when
In its. normal position stands with tts
body almost vertical and carries the
suggestion Of MISUNDERSTANDING,
we might say, feathered sack, with
only q long-bllled head and claws pro-
jecting, and one beholding 1t feels that
he is looking at some unfinished crea-
ture. It Is a nocturnal bird, of fierce
temper, and has become rare In conse-
auence of the merciless war that 's
made upon It, Everything Is strange
about 1t, even the single egg 1t lays.
which weighs about quarter as much
MS its body. Together with the ap-
teryx, there once lived in New Aea-
land bird that reached the height OF
nearly 12 feet, the .dinornis:-Apple-
toms Popular Science Monthly.