Capture of young Ostriches.—Natural History of the Ostrich;
where found; Description of; Size; Weight; Age; Voice;
Strength; Speed; Food; Water; Breeding; Incubation; Cunning;
Stones found in Eggs; Chicks; Flesh.—Brain in request among the
Romans.—Eggs highly prized.—Uses of Egg-shells.—Feathers an
article of Commerce.—Ostrich Parasols.—The Bird’s destructive
Propensities.—Habits.—Resembles Quadrupeds.—Domestication.—The
Chase.—Snares.—Ingenious Device.—Enemies of the Ostrich.
Ostriches are at all times more or less numerous on the Naarip Plain, but
more particularly so at this season, on account of the naras (of which
mention was made in the second chapter) being now ripe.
While waiting for the missionary vessel, previously to the departure of
Mr. Galton, I made several trips between the Bay and Scheppmansdorf, in
order to arrange matters for my intended journey to the Ngami. On one of
these occasions I was accompanied by my friend. When we had proceeded
little more than half the distance, and in a part of the plain entirely
destitute of vegetation, we discovered a male and female ostrich, with a
brood of young ones about the size of ordinary barn-door fowls. This was
a sight we had long been looking for, as Galton had been requested by
Professor Owen to procure a few craniums of the young of this bird, in
order to settle certain anatomical questions. Accordingly, we forthwith
dismounted from our oxen and gave chase, which proved of no ordinary
interest.
The moment the parent birds became aware of our intention, they set off
at full speed, the female leading the way, the young following in her
wake, and the cock, though at some little distance, bringing up the
rear of the family party. It was very touching to observe the anxiety
the old birds evinced for the safety of their progeny. Finding that we
were quickly gaining upon them, the male at once slackened his pace, and
diverged somewhat from his course; but, seeing that we were not to be
diverted from our purpose, he again increased his speed, and, with wings
drooping so as almost to touch the ground, he hovered round us, now in
wide circles, and then decreasing the circumference till he came almost
within pistol-shot, when he abruptly threw himself on the ground, and
struggled desperately to regain his legs, as it appeared, like a bird
that has been badly wounded. Having previously fired at him, I really
thought he was disabled, and made quickly toward him. But this was only a
_ruse_ on his part; for, on my nearer approach, he slowly rose and began
to run in an opposite direction to that of the female, who by this time
was considerably ahead with her charge.
[Illustration: COURSING YOUNG OSTRICHES.]
After about an hour’s severe chase, we secured nine of the brood; and,
though it consisted of about double that number, we found it necessary to
be contented with what we had bagged.[39]
On returning to the Bay, however, the next morning in a mule-cart, Mr.
Galton again encountered the same birds with the remainder of the family,
and, after a short race, captured six more of the chicks.
The ostrich (which, from possessing the rudiments of a gall-bladder, and
the absence of wings fit for flight, seems to form a kind of connecting
link between the two great families of _mammalia_ and _aves_) is an
inhabitant of a large portion of Africa, but rarely extends farther east
than the deserts of Arabia. Throughout the Indian Archipelago, the family
of birds (of which the ostrich is the leading type) is represented by
the cassowary; in Australia by the emeu; in the southern extremity of
the western hemisphere by the rhea; and even in Europe, though somewhat
departing from the type, it has its representative in the stately bustard.
Any thing like a scientific description of the ostrich would here be out
of place; but it may be proper to mention that the lower part of the
neck and the body of the mature male bird are of a deep glossy black,
intermingled with a few whitish feathers, only visible when the plumage
is ruffled. “In the female the general color of the feathers is of a
grayish or ashy brown, slightly fringed with white. In both sexes the
large plumes of the wings and tail are beautifully white.”
The ostrich, when full grown, stands no less than from seven to eight
feet, and instances are recorded where individual birds have attained
as much as nine. Its weight is proportionate. Judging from what I have
experienced in carrying the dead body, it is not less, perhaps, than two
or three hundred pounds. Indeed, there are persons who believe that the
mature bird, when in prime condition, as a butcher would say, will attain
a weight of thirty stone.
I could never obtain any data that would enable me to form a correct
estimate of the age of the ostrich, but it may fairly be concluded that
he lives between twenty and thirty years.
The cry of the ostrich so greatly resembles that of a lion as
occasionally to deceive even the natives. It is usually heard early in
the morning, and at times also at night.
The strength of the ostrich is enormous. A single blow from its gigantic
foot (it always strikes forward) is sufficient to prostrate, nay, to kill
many beasts of prey, such as the hyæna, the panther, the wild dog, the
jackal, and others.
The ostrich is exceedingly swift of foot, under ordinary circumstances
outrunning a fleet horse: “What time she lifteth up herself on high, she
scorneth the horse and its rider.” On special occasions and for a short
distance, its speed is truly marvelous, perhaps not much less than a
mile in half a minute. Its feet appear hardly to touch the ground, and
the length between each stride is not unfrequently twelve to fourteen
feet. Indeed, if we are to credit the testimony of Mr. Adanson, who says
he witnessed the fact in Senegal, such is the rapidity and muscular
power of the ostrich, that, even with two men mounted on his back, he
will outstrip an English horse in speed! The ostrich, moreover, is
long-winded, if I may use the expression, so that it is a work of time to
exhaust the bird.
The food of the ostrich, in its wild state, consists of the seeds,
tops, and buds of various shrubs and other plants.[40] But it is often
difficult to conceive how it can manage to live at all, for one not
unfrequently meets with it in regions apparently destitute of vegetation
of any kind:
“A region of emptiness, howling and drear,
Which man hath abandoned from famine and fear;
Which the ostrich and lizard inhabit alone,
With the twilight bat from the old hollow stone;
Where grass, nor herb, nor shrub take root,
Save poisonous thorns that pierce the foot;
And the bitter-melon for food and drink,
Is the pilgrim’s fare by the salt lake’s brink!”
Although the ostrich is undoubtedly capable of undergoing thirst for
a considerable period, yet water appears to be indispensable to its
existence. In the dry and hot season I have often observed the same flock
drinking almost daily. They swallow the water by a succession of gulps.
On such occasions, that is, when approaching a spring, they seem quite
stupefied. While staying at Elephant Fountain, where in a short time
I killed eight of these magnificent birds, they made their appearance
regularly every day about noon; and although the locality afforded but
indifferent shelter, they invariably allowed me to get within range, only
retreating step by step.
Like the capercali of Europe, the ostrich has a plurality of wives—from
two to six, it is said. The breeding season would seem to be somewhat
undefined, for I have met with nests in every month from June till
October. Each female is represented as laying from twelve to sixteen
eggs, and all in one and the same nest, which is simply a cavity scooped
out in the sand.
Both male and female assist in hatching the eggs, which are placed
upright, in order, it would seem, “that the greatest possible number may
be stowed within the space.” When about a dozen eggs are laid, the bird,
which squats astride over them, with its legs pointed forward, begins to
sit. I have observed that on perceiving a man, instead of running away
from the nest, it not unfrequently lowers its conspicuous neck till it
becomes in a line with the ground, evidently in the hope that it may be
passed unnoticed.
During the period of incubation, the ostrich, if an intruder approaches
its nest, resorts to various artifices to induce him to withdraw far off.
“One morning,” says Professor Thunberg, “as I rode past a place where
a hen-ostrich sat on her nest, the bird sprang up and pursued me, with
a view to prevent my noticing her young ones or her eggs. Every time I
turned my horse toward her she retreated ten or twelve paces, but as soon
as I rode on she pursued me again.”
The period of incubation seems to vary; but, on the average, it may be
about thirty-eight days. One or more of the females are said to lay
meanwhile; but the supernumerary eggs are placed outside the nest, and
are supposed to serve as nourishment for the callow brood. If such really
be the case, we in this again see a wonderful provision of nature,
inasmuch as the chicken would be unable to digest the indurated matter
furnished by their too-often sterile haunts.
The notion so generally entertained of the ostrich merely depositing her
eggs in the sand, and leaving them to be vivified by the sun, arises
probably from its habit of occasionally quitting the nest in search of
food, more especially as it generally does so during the hottest part of
the day.
Some travelers affirm that the ostrich not only never sits on her eggs
after having once been handled, or even if a man should have passed near
the nest, but that she actually destroys them! I, for my part, can not
speak to this point, having, whenever I found an ostrich’s nest, usually
plundered it at once, thus leaving the bird no opportunity of obeying so
strange an instinct.
It seems pretty certain, however, that the ostrich, as with many other
birds, is in the habit of deserting her eggs if they be handled. “The
slaves,” says Professor Thunberg, “always use the precaution not to take
away the eggs with their hands (in which case the birds, who perceive it
by scent, are apt to quit the spot), but by means of a long stick they
rake them out of the nest as fast as the birds lay them.”
A peculiarity in regard to the eggs of the ostrich, and, so far as I am
aware, confined to the eggs of this bird alone, is mentioned by several
African travelers. For example: “The farmer here likewise informed me,”
says the author just quoted, “that a stone or two is sometimes found in
the ostrich’s eggs, which is hard, white, rather flat and smooth, and
about the size of a bean. These stones are cut and made into buttons, but
I never had the good fortune to see any of them.”
Again: “In these eggs,” writes Barrow, “are frequently discovered a
number of small oval-shaped pebbles, about the size of a marrowfat pea,
of a pale yellow color, and exceedingly hard. In one egg we found nine,
and in another twelve of such stones.”
Notwithstanding the number of eggs laid, seldom more than thirty to
thirty-five are hatched. Almost as soon as the chicks (which are about
the size of pullets) have escaped from the shell, they are able to
walk about and to follow the mother, on whom they are dependent for a
considerable period. And Nature, with her usual care, has provided the
young with a color and a covering admirably suited to the localities they
frequent. The color is a kind of pepper-and-salt, harmonizing wonderfully
with the variegated sand and gravel of the plains which they are in the
habit of traversing. Indeed, when crouching under my very eyes, I have
had the greatest difficulty in discerning the chicks. The covering is
neither down nor feathers, but a kind of “prickly external,” which, no
doubt, is an excellent protection against injury from the coarse gravel
and the stunted vegetation among which they dwell.
The flesh of the young ostrich is not unpalatable, but that of the old
bird is any thing but good. To my notion, it tastes very much like that
of the zebra. According to the Mosaic law, the ostrich was denounced as
an unclean animal, and the Jews were, consequently, forbidden to eat it.
The Arabs of the present day still adhere to this prohibition. Some of
the native tribes of Southern Africa, however, are less fastidious, and
partake of the flesh with great relish, more especially when fat.
Though people at the present day place little or no value on the ostrich
as an article of food, the ancient Romans, who were great epicures, seem
to have been of a different opinion. We are told by Vobiscus that the
pseudo-Emperor Firmus, “equally celebrated for his feats at the anvil and
at the trencher, devoured, in his own imperial person, an entire ostrich
at one sitting.”[41] The brain of this bird was considered a superlative
delicacy; and, like every thing else with that luxurious nation, it was
provided on the most magnificent scale. Thus, according to an ancient
testimony, the Emperor Heliogabalus was served at a single feast with the
brains of six hundred of these birds.[42]
If the flesh of the ostrich be not much esteemed, its eggs, at all
events, are prized in the highest degree by natives and travelers. To say
nothing of their flavor, each contains as much as twenty-four of the eggs
of the barn-door fowl, and weighs about three pounds.
From the great size of the ostrich egg it might be supposed that one
would be a sufficient meal for any man; but I have known instances where
two eggs have been dispatched by a single individual, even when mixed
with a quantity of flour and fat. Indeed, Hans and his companion once
finished five ostrich eggs in the course of an afternoon!
Even the egg-shell is of considerable value, and is an excellent vessel
for holding liquids of any kind. The Bushmen have hardly any other. By
covering it with a light net-work, it may be carried slung across the
saddle. Grass, wood, &c., serve as substitutes for corks.
By the monks of Dayr Antonios, we are informed that the Copts (by whom
the eggs are looked upon as the emblem of watchfulness, and who suspend
them in their churches) pass the cords of their lamps through the shell
in order to prevent the rats from coming down and drinking the oil.
The shell of the egg is used medicinally. The Boers, after reducing it
to powder and mixing it with vinegar, give it to cattle afflicted with
strangury, for which disease it is considered a sovereign remedy. The
powder itself is said to be an excellent preservative against blindness.
The white wing-feathers[43] of the ostrich (the black ones are used
chiefly for mourning) are a considerable article of commerce. The market,
however, is very fluctuating. At the Cape the price varies from one or
two guineas sterling to as much as twelve for the pound, the latter
sum, however, being only paid for very prime feathers. The thinner the
quill, and the longer and more wavy the plume, the more it is prized.[44]
Seventy to ninety feathers go to the pound. But, although half this
number may be obtained from a single bird, only a small portion are
of any value. In the pairing season, and it may be at other times, the
ostrich, like the turkey-cock, the capercali, and many other birds, is
in the habit of drooping its wings, so that the outer feathers trail on
the ground, which soon destroys their beauty. The proper time to kill the
ostrich for its plumes is shortly after the moulting season, or in the
months of March and April.
The Damaras and the Bechuanas manufacture handsome parasols from the
black feathers of the ostrich, which serve as signs of mourning, or are
useful for the preservation of the complexion. “It is a beautiful sight,”
says Harris, “to behold a savage whose skin, somewhat coarser than the
hide of a rhinoceros, might vie in point of color with a boot, protecting
his complexion by the interposition of such an umbrella.”
Some of the tribes of Southern Africa are said to employ ostrich parasols
while hunting wild animals, with a similar purpose to that of a Spanish
bull-fighter who uses a red cloth. Thus, in case of a wounded beast
charging a man, the latter, just at the moment he is about to be seized,
suddenly thrusts the supports of the nodding plumes into the ground, and,
while the infuriated animal is venting its rage on its supposed victim,
the native slips unperceived on one side and transfixes his antagonist.
The skin of the ostrich is also said to be held in great request, and
forms no inconsiderable article of commerce. “The whole defensive armor
of the Nasamones, inhabitants of Libya, was manufactured of the birds’
thick skin, which, even at the present day, is used as a cuirass by some
of the Arab troops.”
The ostrich, though usually dwelling far from the haunts of men,
occasionally approaches the homestead, and at such times causes the Boer
considerable damage by trampling down and eating the grain.
The opinions of authors and sportsmen with regard to the ostrich vary
considerably. Some ascribe to it great stupidity, while others consider
it as possessed of vivacity and much intelligence. Without passing a
judgment, I will only mention that I have seen it exhibit these opposite
qualities in no small degree.
In a domesticated state, it is true, the ostrich appears to be a quiet,
dull, and heavy-looking bird; but when seen in its native haunts, it is
restless, wary, and difficult of approach. From its great stature, and
the prominent position of its eyes, its range of vision is naturally
considerable, which enables it to discover danger at a considerable
distance. This, together with the exposed localities frequented by it,
probably accounts for the comparatively few that even the mightiest
Nimrods of South Africa can boast of having killed.
What may be the case with the ostrich in a wild state is hard to say;
but when in confinement, no bird or other animal demonstrates so little
discrimination in the choice of its food, for it then swallows with
avidity stones, pieces of wood and iron, spoons, knives, and a variety
of other indigestible matters. This strange propensity and apparent
obtuseness of taste obtained for the bird at an early period the epithet
of “the iron-eating ostrich:”
“The estridge that will eate
An horshowe so great
In the steade of meat;
Such fervent heat
His stomach doth freat.”[45]
Many amusing anecdotes are told of the strange habits of this bird.
Once—so runs the story—when the ostrich was still a rare sight in Europe,
a woman, on hearing of the arrival of a batch of these birds, and being
anxious to obtain a sight of them, hastily shut up her house, taking
the key of the door in her hand. No sooner, however, had she arrived on
the spot where the birds were kept, when one of them stalked gravely
up to the lady, and, snatching the iron instrument out of her hand,
deliberately, and to her great horror, swallowed it, _actually shutting
her out of her own house_!
“Nothing,” says Methuen, in his “Life in the Wilderness,” when speaking
of a female ostrich that came under his immediate notice, “disturbed
the ostrich’s digestion: dyspepsia was a thing ‘undreamt of in its
philosophy.’ One day, a Muscovy duck brought a promising brood of
ducklings into the world, and with maternal pride conducted them forth
into the yard. Up, with solemn and measured stride, walked the ostrich,
and, wearing the most mild, benignant cast of face, swallowed them all,
one after the other, like so many oysters, regarding the indignant
hissings and bristling plumage of the hapless mother with stoical
indifference.”
The ostrich is gregarious, and is met with in troops varying from a few
individuals to as many as fifty. Singularly enough, it is never known to
associate with other birds, but, preferring quadrupeds, is often found
in company with the zebra, the springbok, the gnoo, &c. Indeed, in many
respects it bears a striking resemblance to four-footed animals, such as
in its strong, jointed legs and cloven hoofs, its long, muscular neck,
its gruff voice, the absence of the elevated central ridge of the breast
bone, so generally characteristic of birds, besides other similarities
already mentioned. But, perhaps, when compared with the camel, the
affinity becomes still more striking. Both are “furnished with callous
protuberances on the chest and on the abdomen, on which they support
themselves when at rest, and they both lie down in the same manner.” In
both, the feet and stomach are somewhat similarly constructed; and if
we add to this their capabilities of subsisting on a scanty and stunted
vegetation, their endurance of thirst, and their formation in general,
which enables ostrich and camel to inhabit and traverse arid and desert
regions, the resemblance is by no means so imaginary as one might at
first suppose. Indeed, to many of the nations of the East,[46] as well as
to the Romans and the Greeks, the ostrich was known by the name of the
camel-bird.
The ostrich is easily domesticated, but is sometimes of a vicious
disposition. The Rev. Mr. Hahn, if I remember rightly, told me that some
of these birds, which he kept in confinement for a considerable period,
became so mischievous that, lest they might injure any of the people on
the station, he was obliged to kill them.
Several persons have tried to breed from the tame ostrich; but, to the
best of my belief, all attempts have hitherto proved abortive. Eggs,
however, have been frequently obtained, but the birds never showed any
inclination to sit upon them. At the Regent’s Park Gardens, moreover,
repeated trials have been made to hatch the eggs by artificial means, but
without success.
The expedients resorted to in South Africa to capture the ostrich are
various. Not unfrequently it is ridden down by men on horseback. Several
hunters take different sides of a large plain, thus hemming the bird in,
and chasing it backward and forward until its strength is exhausted.
The ostrich is also at times ridden down by a single horseman. Under
ordinary circumstances, fleet as the horse may be, this would be
impossible. Toward the approach of the rainy season, however, when the
days are intolerably hot and oppressive, the giant bird may be seen
standing motionless on the plain, with wings spread and beak wide open;
and at such times the capture may be accomplished. Indeed, cases have
come under my notice where Namaquas, after a short but spirited chase,
have brought the ostrich to a dead stand-still. A blow on the head with
a stick or a “shambok” is then sufficient to dispatch it. On similar
occasions, however, horses have been known to drop down dead from
over-exertion.
When an ostrich finds himself observed, he will often make for some given
point, more especially if he be hemmed in near a plain. He is so fully
aware that safety is only to be found in the open country, that he always
endeavors to gain it. Should the sportsman understand his business, he
may easily cut him off; but it requires a keen eye and a practiced hand
to bring the bird down; for on emergencies like these, its speed, as
before said, is truly wonderful.
The Arabs of North Africa are also accustomed to pursue the ostrich
on horseback; but, instead of trying to overtake the bird at once, it
is steadily followed, even for days, without putting it to its speed,
until it becomes gradually exhausted, when it falls an easy prey to the
persevering hunter.[47]
In parts of Southern Africa the ostrich is run down even on foot. I
myself have seen the Bushmen accomplish this exploit on the shores of
Lake Ngami. They usually surround a whole troop, and with shouts and
yells chase the terrified birds into the water, where they are, of
course, speedily killed. “We more than once,” says Harris, “fell in with
a large party of Corannas engaged in an attempt to tire out an ostrich on
foot, a feat which they are said sometimes to achieve, knocking him off
his legs by _squaling_ with a club of rhinoceros horn fashioned like a
hockey stick.”
The Bushman, however, frequently has recourse to a much simpler plan of
circumventing the ostrich. Having found its nest, he removes the eggs to
a place of safety, and, ensconcing himself in the empty cavity, awaits
the return of the bird, which he generally manages to dispatch with a
poisoned arrow.
At other times the natives lie in wait near pools frequented by
ostriches, and shoot them when they come there to quench their thirst.
If the gun be loaded with swan-shot instead of ball, and one aims at the
necks, several may be killed at a single discharge; but this plan will,
of course, never be adopted by the true sportsman.
Ostriches are also not unfrequently captured in snares (similar to those
made use of for entangling smaller species of antelopes), but I have
quite forgotten whether by the neck or the leg. A long cord, having at
one end a noose, is tied to a sapling, which is bent down, and the noose
pinned to the ground in such a manner that when a bird treads within
it the sapling springs back by its own natural elasticity, suspending
the bird or other animal in the air, and it is only released from its
sufferings by death. Strabo and Oppian make mention of snares being
employed by the ancients for the capture of ostriches, either alluring
them by stratagem into the toils, or driving them _en masse_ by a brisk
pursuit with horses and dogs.
But the most ingenious plan of beguiling the ostrich to its destruction
is that described by Mr. Moffat and others as practiced among the
Bushmen. The reverend gentleman says:
“A kind of flat double cushion is stuffed with straw and formed something
like a saddle. All except the under part of this is covered over with
feathers attached to small pegs and made so as to resemble the bird. The
head and neck of an ostrich are stuffed, and a small rod introduced. The
Bushman intending to attack game whitens his legs with any substance he
can procure. He places the feathered saddle on his shoulders, takes
the bottom part of the neck in his right hand, and his bow and poisoned
arrows in his left. Such as the writer has seen were most perfect mimics
of the ostrich, and at a few hundred yards’ distance it is not possible
for the eye to detect the fraud. This _human_ bird appears to pick away
at the verdure, turning the head as if keeping a sharp look-out, shakes
his feathers, now walks, and then trots till he gets within bow-shot; and
when the flock runs from one receiving an arrow, he runs too. The male
ostriches will, on some occasions, give chase to the strange bird, when
he tries to elude them in a way to prevent them catching his scent; for
when once they do, the spell is broken. Should one happen to get too near
in pursuit, he has only to run to windward or throw off his saddle to
avoid a stroke from a wing which would lay him prostrate.”
But the ostrich has other enemies besides man. Beasts as well as birds
are said to seek and devour their eggs with great avidity. According to
Sir James Alexander (given on the authority of the natives about the
Orange River), when the birds have left their nest in the middle of the
day in search of food, “a white Egyptian vulture may be seen soaring in
mid-air with a stone between his talons. Having carefully surveyed the
ground below him, he suddenly lets fall the stone, and then follows it in
rapid descent. Let the hunter run to the spot, and he will find a nest of
probably a score of eggs, some of them broken by the vulture.”
Again, “the jackal is said to roll the eggs together to break them, while
the hyæna pushes them off with its nose to break them at a distance.”
Nothing of this kind ever came under my notice, though, on the other
hand, I have not unfrequently found the bird itself destroyed by lions,
panthers, wild dogs, and other beasts.