The TRUE NANDU, or AMERICAN OSTRICH (_Rhea Americana_), has the plumage
on the crown of the head, upper throat, nape, and upper breast, and the
bristles on the cheek-stripes of a blackish hue; the centre of the throat
is yellow, the rest of the neck and cheeks are light lead-grey, and the
back, sides of the breast, and wings brownish grey; the other portions of
the under side are dirty white. The eyes are pearl-grey, the bare parts
of the face flesh-colour; the beak is greyish brown, and the foot grey.
The female is distinguishable by the paler tints of her neck and breast.
An old female measured by the Prince von Wied was fifty-two inches and
two-thirds in length, and seven feet across the span of the wings.
[Illustration: AN OSTRICH HUNT.]
[Illustration: NANDUS (_Rhea Americana_), WITH NEST AND EGGS.]
The American Ostrich ranges south as far as forty-two or forty-three
degrees; it is abundant on the plains of La Plata, and, according to
Azara, is found in Paraguay. Mr. Darwin saw it within the first range of
mountains on the Uspalluta Plain, at an elevation of six or seven thousand
feet above the sea; but it does not cross the Cordilleras. At Bahia Blanca
the latter observer repeatedly saw three or four come down at low water to
the extensive mud-banks, which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos
say, of catching small fish. Although this Ostrich is in its habits so
shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it falls a
prey without much difficulty to the Indian or Gaucho, armed with the
_bolas_. When several horsemen appear in a circle it becomes confounded,
and does not know which way to escape; it prefers running against the
wind, yet at the first start it expands its wings like a vessel that
makes all sail. On one fine hot day Mr. Darwin saw several of these birds
enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted concealed until closely
approached.
In Patagonia, at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes, Mr. King several
times saw Nandus swimming from island to island, a distance of about two
hundred yards; they ran into the water, both when driven and of their own
accord, and swam very slowly, with their necks extended a little forward,
only a small part of their bodies appearing above the water. Mr. Darwin
likewise on two occasions observed some of these Ostriches swimming across
the Santa Cruz River, where it was about four hundred yards wide and
its course rapid. The note of the male is described as being deep-toned
and hissing, and so peculiar as rather to resemble the noise of some
wild beast than the voice of any bird. At Bahia Blanca, in the months of
September and October, the eggs of the Nandu were found in extraordinary
numbers all over the country. They either lie scattered singly--in which
case they are never hatched and are called by the Spaniards _huachos_--or
they are collected together into a shallow excavation which forms the
nest. Out of four nests which Mr. Darwin saw, three contained twenty-two
eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. In one day's hunting on horseback
sixty-four eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and
the remaining twenty were scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously
affirm--and there is no reason to doubt their statement--that the male
bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies
the young. The male when on the nest lies very close, and may almost be
ridden over. It is asserted that at such times they are occasionally very
fierce and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man
on horseback by trying to kick and leap on him. There can be little doubt
that several females deposit their eggs in common; indeed, the Gauchos,
says Darwin, "unanimously assert that four or five have been watched and
actually seen to go, in the middle of the day, one after another to the
same nest."
A family party of Nandus generally consists of a male and from five to
seven females, who seem to have possession of a space of ground, from
which all intruders in the shape of rivals are resolutely excluded; but
when the breeding season is over, several of these families associate
together, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to see sixty of them
forming one large flock, but they seldom wander very far from their native
place. In the autumn they seem to prefer the neighbourhood of streams and
marshy ground, where they find fruit and berries, or they wander among
the thistles first introduced by the Spaniards, but now extending over
thousands of miles of fertile soil; while in the winter time they may be
seen associating with cattle, sharing with them the long fine grass.
In swiftness the Nandu is but little behind its African representative.
It can easily outrun and tire the best horse, not only by the swiftness
of its pace, but by the wonderful skill with which it makes all sorts
of windings and short cuts. The length of its usual step is stated by
Böcking to be from twenty to four-and-twenty inches. When it raises its
outstretched wings but still goes leisurely along, its stride is about
three feet and a half; but if pursued and going at full speed each step
covers at least five feet, and the movements of its legs are so rapid that
it is impossible to count its footsteps. Often during the chase it will
suddenly dart off from its direct course, with one wing elevated and the
other depressed, at an angle of twenty-five or thirty degrees, and then
with fierce speed resume its former direction, springing over ditches or
fissures twenty feet across with the utmost ease; but it carefully avoids
steep ascents, as over such it makes its way with difficulty.
During the rainy season these birds live principally upon clover, combined
with such insects as happen to fall in their way. At a later period they
frequent the plains where cattle graze, and feed almost exclusively
upon grass; they show, nevertheless, a decided preference for the more
nutritious vegetables imported from Europe, and often do considerable
damage in the kitchen gardens of the settlers. Their presence, however,
is by no means devoid of utility. One of their favourite articles of
food consists of the unripe seeds of a plant somewhat resembling the
burdock, which, owing to its abundance in some localities, is a serious
detriment to the cattle-breeder, seeing that the burrs which it produces
get entangled in the manes and tails of horses, or the fleeces of sheep,
in which latter case they render the wool absolutely useless, by causing
it to become as it were felted into inextricable knots and tangles, and
indeed not unfrequently leading to the death of the animal, by producing
sores that soon swarm with maggots, and occasion intolerable irritation.
Whoever has examined the contents of the stomach of a Nandu, in the
month of December, will have some idea of the quantity of these seeds
that are thus devoured, and acknowledge that, were it only on account
of the services thus rendered to the farmer, the Nandus deserve all
the protection which they already enjoy at the hands of intelligent
cattle-breeders. At all times of the year, and at all ages, they feed
indiscriminately on a great variety of insects, and as the Guachos assert,
also upon snakes and other reptiles. Like our Barn-door Fowls, they
swallow quantities of small stones to facilitate the process of digestion.
They drink but seldom, the moisture derived from dew and rain appearing
to satisfy their ordinary wants; nevertheless, when they come to a pond,
they may be seen to indulge in a draught, very much after the manner of
chickens, scooping up the water with their beaks, and then holding their
necks outstretched, and thus allowing it to trickle down their throats.
In the beginning of spring, which in the southern hemisphere is about the
month of October, those males which have attained the age of two years,
collect around them a seraglio of hen-birds, varying in number from three
to seven or more, and immediately begin to drive all rivals from their
vicinity, by formidable blows inflicted with their beak and wings. They
then at once begin their courtship, by performing, apparently for the
gratification of their mates, a remarkable sort of dance; with wings
outspread and trailing upon the ground, they stalk hither and thither,
or suddenly breaking into a run, dart forward with great speed, beating
the air with their wings, and then checking their career, strut about,
bowing to the female with ludicrous assumption of dignity, and recommence
the same performance. During this exhibition the male invariably gives
utterance to a loud bellowing noise, and manifests every indication of
being in a state of great excitement. When in their native wilds, the
courage and pugnacity which they display at this season is of course
expended on their rivals, but when in captivity their anger seems to
extend to intruders of every description. Visitors and even their keepers
must beware of the formidable blows inflicted with their hard beaks, or
sometimes with their feet, as they kick much in the same manner as the
African Ostrich. For a very interesting account of the proceedings of
these birds during incubation we are indebted to Bodinus. In the case of
a pair which bred in the Zoological Gardens of Cologne, he observed that
the male, upon whom alone devolves the duty of preparing a nest, did so
by continually moving about while sitting in a particular spot, until at
length, without any scratching or removal of the soil, a cavity was formed
in which the nest, consisting of a little dried grass, roughly arranged,
was placed. The female takes no share whatever in the preparation of the
nest. In the Pampas, before brooding time, which begins there about the
middle of December, solitary eggs, called by the natives "foundlings,"
are everywhere to be met with; they seem to be produced by females
obliged to lay before the male has been able to make preparations for
their reception. The nest is generally a shallow excavation in some dry
spot of ground beyond the reach of inundation, and usually so placed as
to be concealed by thistles and long grass. A very favourable locality
is in holes made by the wild cattle, who use them as a kind of dust-bed,
wherein they shelter themselves against the attacks of insects, until they
have worn them so deep as to be larger than convenient for themselves, but
exactly suited to the requirements of the male Nandu. Should, however,
no such ready-made excavation present itself, the bird must perforce
undertake the necessary labour of clearing a space of ground of the
overgrowing vegetation, lining it scantily with dried grass, a ring of
which material always surrounds the margin, and thus preparing it for the
reception of the eggs. The number of eggs laid by each female has been a
subject of much dispute. Azara relates that at times seventy or eighty
eggs have been found in a single nest, while Darwin gives forty or fifty
as the greatest number. Böcking tells us, on the authority of the Guachos,
that fifty eggs have been met with, although he himself never saw more
than twenty-three, and gives from thirteen to seventeen as an average
number from all the nests he examined. The eggs themselves appear to be
very variable in size, some being not much larger than those of a Goose,
while others measure five inches in length. Around the nest, in a space
extending from its margin to a distance of fifty paces, "foundlings" are
always to be met with, and these appear to be fresher than the eggs within
the nest. The colour of the eggs is a dull yellowish white, marked with
small, greenish yellow dots, placed around the large pores. If exposed to
the sun, these colours rapidly fade, insomuch that after a week's exposure
the egg-shells are all snow-white.
As soon as the nest has received its full complement, the male alone
undertakes the duties of incubation, the hens all retiring to a distance;
nevertheless, they generally keep together, and always remain within the
territory previously claimed by the master of the family. During the
night, and until the morning dew has been dried up, the male never leaves
his place upon the nest, but in the daytime he allows himself greater
liberty, and may be seen feeding at irregular intervals, that depend upon
the brightness of the sky or the temperature of the weather. Towards
the commencement of incubation the male Nandu appears rather careless
of his charge, and upon the slightest alarm will leave his nest until
the danger is past; but at a later period he broods very assiduously,
and will sometimes sit still till he is nearly ridden over, springing up
suddenly, immediately before the unwary traveller, often frightening a
spirited horse, and putting his rider in great danger. Neither does the
brood always escape the consequences of such precipitancy, some of the
eggs being frequently trodden upon and crushed, or kicked out of the nest
by the frantic bird. The affection of the male Nandu for his offspring
is, however, more conspicuously visible when a traveller approaches his
brooding-place in a more leisurely manner. On such occasions the anxious
parent hastens to meet the intruder, with wings outspread and ruffled
feathers, limping slowly along and staggering in a zigzag course, using
every endeavour to divert the attention of the stranger from the real
cause of anxiety.
Although the sitting Nandu is by no means fond of visitors, he will not
desert the eggs so long as his nest is not actually disturbed, and has
even been known to continue sitting upon the residue after some of the
eggs have been taken away. In South America the young Nandus make their
appearance from the egg-shell about the beginning of February. Their
growth is surprisingly rapid, insomuch, indeed, that chicks of a fortnight
old are already a foot and a half high. Even on the third or fourth day
after they are hatched it would be difficult for a man to overtake them in
running, were it not that when hotly pursued, young birds have a habit of
falling flat upon the ground, where they easily escape observation. For
about five weeks they follow their father only, but the female parents
gradually join the party until the family is complete. By the arrival of
autumn, _i.e._, in April or May, the young birds have exchanged their
first clothing of down for a suit of dirty, yellowish grey feathers.
[Illustration: THE TRUE NANDU, OR AMERICAN OSTRICH (_Rhea Americana_).]
In addition to the all-reaching destructiveness of mankind, the great
enemy to the Nandus is fire. About the time when these birds are beginning
to breed, the herdsmen are in the habit of taking advantage of a high
wind, for the purpose of burning the long dry grass upon the vast steppes
or prairies, in order to clear them from the last year's straw. Before
such a fire as is thus kindled all living beings can only take refuge in
the low-lying and wettest portions of the country, and innumerable animals
suffer a cruel death. On these occasions the inhabitants of the district
collect as a great prize all the Nandus' eggs upon which they can lay
their hands. One of these eggs indeed is worth about fifteen Hens' eggs,
and is with the natives a very favourite dish. To prepare them, the narrow
end is broken open, the white, which is said to have a disagreeable taste,
is thrown away, and then having added a little butter, salt, and pepper,
the yolk is cooked by being stirred over the fire, using the egg-shell
as a saucepan. To boil one of these eggs hard in European fashion,
requires forty minutes. They are excellent for all culinary purposes,
but unfortunately will not keep. The flesh of the Nandu much resembles
horse-flesh in its colour, nevertheless the old birds are a favourite dish
among the Indians, while the young are not distasteful even to European
palates; they likewise afford a rich supply of oily, semi-fluid fat,
which while fresh is much esteemed, and used like butter. Unfortunately,
however, it soon becomes rancid, and is then only useful for softening
leather; and even for this purpose, in a country so abounding in hides,
it is not of much value. Out of the skin covering the neck the Gauchos
are in the habit of manufacturing small bags, suitable for many domestic
articles, while from the flexible shafts of the feathers, boys construct
springes with which they catch water-fowl. The full-grown feathers of the
mature bird are likewise used as ornaments to the harness of horses, or
are woven into very beautiful rugs, the patterns of which are extremely
elegant and varied. Feathers of inferior value are made into bunches for
dusting furniture, while the best and largest afford plumes scarcely
inferior to those of the Ostrich.
Böcking estimates the duration of the life of the Nandu at fourteen or
fifteen years, and believes that many of them die from sheer old age,
inasmuch as he has observed individuals (especially in the winter season)
at the point of death, but exhibiting no external injury or internal
lesion to account for their condition.
With the exception of mankind, these gigantic and swift-footed birds
indeed might seem to enjoy an immunity from the attacks of any ordinary
assailants. Sometimes the adult may be surprised by a prowling jaguar,
or an Eagle may swoop upon the young, and by chance carry off a victim,
but such accidents would seem to be of rare occurrence. Perhaps among
the most inveterate of their foes are the Spurred Lapwings (_Hoplopterus
spinosus_), whose animosity against these giants of the prairie is
positively ludicrous. No sooner does a Nandu approach a pair of these
little birds than they set up an intolerable screeching, like Crows on
the appearance of a Hawk; they strike at him with their wings, and by the
pertinacity of their attacks generally make him glad to get away from such
contemptible assailants, who valorously follow him for a little distance,
and return with every demonstration of triumph.
The chase of the Rhea is a very favourite exercise. The Indians and the
Gauchos hunt them on horseback, kill them with the _bolas_, or course
them with dogs bred for the purpose; indulging in this sport not so much
for the sake of the booty as for the purpose of testing the swiftness
and endurance of their noble horses, and their own skill in throwing
the bolas or the lasso. When a hunting party is announced, numerous
well-mounted horsemen assemble, and taking advantage of the wind, approach
the birds as closely as they can, at a slow pace, until the moment when
the Nandus begin to run, which is the signal for man and horse to exert
themselves to the uttermost, and at length an individual is singled out
and separated from the flock as the special object of attack. In spite of
the swiftness of the poor bird, the Gauchos are soon close at his heels,
and the horseman who happens to gain the left side throws his bolas at
the devoted victim, which an instant afterwards falls to the ground a mere
shapeless mass of feathers, and rolls over killed by the momentum of its
own career.
Should the first horseman miss his aim another immediately takes his
place, and launches from his hand the terrible weapon. This is repeated by
successive riders, until the game is either brought down, or succeeds in
reaching some swamp, where the horses are unable to follow.
The name of Nandu is an imitation of the cry of the male during the
breeding season. After pairing-time is over the tones are very different,
and not easily described. In the neighbourhood of the peaceful settlers
who leave them undisturbed, the Nandus become so tame and trustful, that
they may be seen associating with tethered horses and milch-cows; indeed,
they may be looked upon as half domesticated, as they carelessly graze
among the cattle, and scarcely stir out of the way either of dogs or man.
Nevertheless, no sooner do they see the Gaucho, who hunts them, than
away they go, using every effort to escape, and displaying considerable
cunning in avoiding the observation of their enemy. The appearance of a
party of Indians puts them into an indescribable state of alarm; they will
fly before them for hours together, and even horses and herds of cattle
seem to share their dismay and accompany their flight; but if the hunter,
creeping upon his hands against the wind, manages to get near a flock of
Nandus and, lying flat down, waves a pocket-handkerchief, the curiosity
of the birds is at once excited and gradually gets the better of their
fear, until the whole flock with their male leader at their head, with
outstretched neck approaches within gunshot of their wily enemy. To kill
the Nandu with a gun, however, requires a good marksman, as these birds
are hard to kill, and will often run a long way after receiving a ball.
Should a flock of them be beguiled in the way we have just described and
one of them fall and begin to struggle, the rest immediately come to
its assistance with most ridiculous gestures, as if they had St. Vitus'
dance in their legs and wings, and thus the sportsman is enabled to have
a second shot. The report of the gun, moreover, does not frighten them,
for if it misses they will come still nearer, as if to satisfy themselves
as to what may be the meaning of so much noise. A wounded Nandu follows
his companions as far as he can, and when exhausted, steps on one side
and is left to his fate. In South America these birds are everywhere to
be seen in a state of semi-domestication, having been caught when young,
and are allowed to run about without restraint; they seem so much attached
to the locality where they have been reared, that towards evening they
always come home of their own accord. The Nandu is very generally met
with in European zoological gardens, where it requires less attention
than any others of the Ostrich race, and provided it has enough to eat,
is content with the simplest diet. Moreover, it seems quite able to bear
the vicissitudes of climate, and might at least become an ornament to our
parks, even were it useless for any other purpose.