For the following particulars relative to the habits of the ostrich,
and the various modes of taking it, we are indebted to a gentleman
who spent many years in Northern Africa, and collected these
details from native sportsmen, his principal informant being
Abd-el-Kader-Mohammed-ben-Kaddour, a Nimrod of renown throughout the
Arab tribes of this region.
The ostrich country, says Ben-Kaddour, may be described as a
rectangle, of which the towns of Insalah, Figig, Sidi-Okba, and
Warklah form the angles; that is, it comprises the northern skirts of
the Saharian desert, where water and herbage are plentiful in
comparison with the arid plains of the centre. Throughout this region,
ostriches may frequently be seen travelling in pairs, or in companies
of four or five couples; but wherever there has been a recent fall of
rain, one is almost sure to find them grazing together in large
numbers, appearing at a distance like a herd of camels. This is a
favourable opportunity for ostrich-hunting, especially if the weather
is very warm; for the greater the heat, the less vigour have the birds
for prolonging the chase. It is well known, that though the ostrich
cannot raise itself into the air, it is nevertheless so swift of foot,
that it cannot be fairly run down even by the horses of this region,
which, on an emergency, are known to run 180 miles in a single day. An
ostrich-hunt is, therefore, undertaken by at least ten horsemen
together, who, being apprized of the spot where a large group are
feeding, approach with extreme caution, and form a cordon round them.
To prevent the birds from escaping from the circle thus formed, is all
they attempt, and it requires their utmost dexterity. The terrified
creatures run hither and thither; and not managing their breath as
they would do in an ordinary pursuit, they at length become exhausted,
and betray it by flapping their wings. The sportsmen now fall
deliberately upon them, and either lead them away alive, or fell them
with a blow on the head. Their first care is to remove the skin, so as
to preserve the feathers uninjured; the next is to melt down the fat,
and pour it into bags formed of the skin of the thigh and leg,
strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an ostrich in good
condition fills both its legs; and as it brings three times the price
of common butter, it is considered no despicable part of the game. It
is not only eaten with bread, and used in the preparation of kooskoos,
and other articles of food, but the Arabs reckon it a valuable remedy
in various maladies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub it
on the part affected till it penetrates thoroughly; then lay the
patient in the burning sand, with his head carefully protected. A
profuse perspiration comes on, and the cure is complete. In bilious
disorders, the grease is lightly warmed, mixed with salt, and
administered as a potion. It acts thus as a powerful aperient, and
causes great emaciation for the time; but the patient, say the Arabs,
having been thus relieved from all the bad humours in his body,
afterwards acquires robust health, and his sight becomes singularly
good. The flesh of the ostriches, dressed with pepper and meal, forms
the supper of the sportsmen.
Ostrich-shooting is conducted in quite a different manner, and as it
is practised only or chiefly during the period of incubation, it is to
it we are principally indebted for the acquaintance which the Arabs
have gained with the habits of these singular birds.
The pairing-season is the month of August. The _reumda_ (female) is
generally shy, and the _delim_ has often to pursue the object of his
choice at full speed for four or five days, during which he neither
eats nor drinks. When, however, she has consented to be his, she never
again quits him till the young ones are reared; and the bond between
them is equally respected by all their companions: there is no
fighting about mates, as among some other gregarious species.
The period of incubation begins in the month of November, and presents
the best opportunity for shooting the ostrich. At this season, also,
the feathers are in the finest condition, though the fat is much less
abundant. Five or six sportsmen set out together on horseback, taking
with them two camels laden with provisions for a month, besides an
abundant supply of powder and ball. They search for places where rain
has lately fallen, or where pools of water occur, for in such
localities there is likely to be that plentiful herbage which never
fails to attract the ostrich. Having discovered its footprints, the
sportsmen examine them with care. If they appear only here and there
on the bare spots, they indicate that the bird has been here to graze;
but if they cross each other in various directions, and the grass is
rather trampled down than eaten, the ostrich has certainly made her
nest in the neighbourhood, and an active but cautious search for it is
commenced. If she is only making her nest, the operation may be
detected at a great distance, as it consists simply of pushing out the
sand from the centre to the circumference of a circle, so as to form a
large hole. The sand rises in dense clouds round the spot, and the
bird utters a pining cry all day long. When the nest is finished, she
cries only towards three in the afternoon. The female sits on the eggs
from morning till noon, while her mate is grazing; at noon, he takes
her place, and she goes to the pasture in her turn. When she returns,
she places herself facing her mate, and at the distance of five or six
paces from the nest, which he occupies all night, in order to defend
it from enemies, especially from the jackals, which often lie in
ambush, ready to take advantage of an unguarded moment. Hunters often
find the carcasses of these animals near ostriches' nests.
In the morning, while the reumda is sitting, the sportsmen dig on each
side of the nest, and at about twenty paces from it, a hole deep
enough to contain a man. In each of these they lodge one of their best
marksmen, and cover him up with long grass, allowing only the gun to
protrude. One of these is to shoot the male, the other the female. The
reumda, seeing this operation going forward, becomes terrified, and
runs off to join her mate; but he does not believe there is any ground
for her terror, and with somewhat ungallant chastisement, forces her
to return. If these preparations were made while the delim was
sitting, he would go after her, and neither would return. The reumda
having resumed her place, the sportsmen take care not to disturb her;
it is the rule to shoot the delim first, and they patiently wait his
return from the pasture. At noon, he takes his place as usual, sitting
with his wings outspread, so as to cover all the eggs. In this
position, the thighs are extremely prominent, and the appointed
marksman takes aim at them, because, if he succeeds in breaking them,
there is no chance of escape, which there would be if almost any other
part were wounded. As soon as he falls, the other sportsmen, attracted
by the report, run up and bleed him according to the laws of the
Koran. They hide the carcass, and cover with sand every trace of the
blood that has been shed. When the reumda comes home at night, she
appears not uneasy at the absence of her mate, but probably concluding
that he was hungry, and has gone for some supper, she takes his place
on the eggs, and is killed by the second marksman in the same way as
the delim. The ostrich is often waylaid in a similar manner at its
usual drinking-place, a good shot being concealed in a hole, whence
he fires on it. The ostrich drinks nearly every five days when there
is water; otherwise it can do without it for a much longer time.
Nothing but excessive thirst induces it ever to approach a human
habitation, and then it flies as soon as it is satisfied. It has been
observed, that whenever the flashing lightning announces an
approaching storm, it hastens towards the water. Though single birds
may often be shot on these occasions, it is a much less certain sport
than killing them on the nest, and less profitable, as in the latter
case the eggs form no contemptible part of the spoil.
The nest of an ordinary pair contains from twenty-five to thirty eggs.
But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together: in
this case, they form a great circular cavity, the eldest couple lay
their eggs in the centre, and the others make a regular disposition of
theirs around them. Thus, if there are four younger couples, they
occupy the four angles of a square. When the laying is finished, the
eggs are pushed towards the centre, but not mixed; and when the eldest
delim begins to sit, all the rest take their places where their eggs
have been laid, the females observing similar order. These
associations are found only where the herbage is very plentiful, and
they are understood always to be family groups, the centre couple
being the parents of the rest. The younger birds lay fewer and smaller
eggs--those of one year old, for instance, have only four or five. The
period of incubation is ninety days.
In the case of several couples associated thus in the same nest, the
sportsmen do not attempt to destroy any but the old ones; for if they
were to set about making as many holes as there were ostriches, the
whole company would take fright and decamp. But perhaps it is
determined to leave them all in peaceable possession for the present,
and rather make a prey of the brood when hatched. The watching of the
nests in such cases has led to further observations. The eggs of each
pair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one,
which was the first laid, and has a peculiar destination. When the
delim perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks the
egg which he judges most matured, and at the same time he bores with
great care a small hole in the surmounting egg. This serves as the
first food of the nestlings; and for this purpose, though open, it
continues long without spoiling, which is the more necessary, as the
delim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three or
four, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring within. This egg
is always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its original
composition, or through the instinct of the parent-birds in avoiding
to keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones,
having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried in
the sun, and begin to run about; in a few days they follow the
parent-birds to the pastures, always returning to shelter under their
wings in the nest.
The paternal affection of the delim is remarkable: he never leaves his
offspring; he faces every danger, and combats every foe in their
defence. The reumda, on the contrary, is easily terrified, and leaves
all to secure her own safety; so that it is usual to compare a man who
bravely defends his tent to a delim, and a pusillanimous soul to a
reumda. The delim finds himself more than a match for the dog, the
jackal, the hyæna, or the eagle: man is his only invincible foe; yet
he dares to wage the unequal war when the young are in danger. If the
Arabs desire to make a prey of the ral, as the young ostriches are
called, they follow their footmarks, and having nearly overtaken them,
they begin to shout; the terrified birds run to their parents, who
face about, and stand still to fight for them; so the Arabs lead away
the ral before their eyes, in spite of the bravadoes of the delim, who
then manifests the liveliest grief. Sometimes the greyhound is
employed in this sport: the delim attacks him, and while they are
fighting, the men carry off the young ones, to bring them up in their
tents.
The ral are easily tamed; they sleep under the tent, are exceedingly
lively, and play with the children and dogs. When the tents are struck
for a flitting, the pet ostriches follow the camels, and are never
known to make their escape during the migration. If a hare passes, and
the men start in pursuit of it, the ostrich darts off in the same
direction, and joins the chase. If she meets in the douar (village of
tents) a child holding any eatable thing in its hand, she lays him
gently on the ground, and robs without hurting him. But the tame
ostrich is a great thief, or rather is so voracious, it devours
everything it finds--even knives, female trinkets, and pieces of iron.
The Arab on whose authority these details are given, relates that a
woman had her coral-necklace carried off and swallowed by an ostrich;
and an officer in the African army affirms, that one of them tore off
and ate the buttons of his surtout. The ostrich is, at the same time,
exceedingly dexterous; so that she will tear a date from a man's mouth
without hurting him. The Arabs are distrustful of her, and know where
to lay the blame if, on counting their money, they find two or three
dollars missing.
It is no uncommon thing to see, at some distance from a douar, a
wearied child riding on the back of an ostrich, which carries its
burden directly towards the tent, the young Jehu holding on by the
pinions. But she would not carry too heavy a load--a man, for
instance--but would throw him on the ground with a flap of her wing.
When ostriches are taken to market in Africa, their legs are tied
almost close together with a cord, another cord attached to this one
being held in the hand.