Identifier: animallifeinseao00coop (find matches)
Title: Animal life in the sea and on the land
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Cooper, Sarah. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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ew years. 9. An ostrich farm is merely a large grassy enclosurein which are placed a few ostriches. It is customary tohatch the eggs by means of an incubator, it havingbeen found that the important point in hatching eggs isto keep them constantly at the same temperature as thebody of the bird when she is sitting. For this purpose alarge chest is used with sliding drawers, between whichare vats filled with hot water. The eggs are snuglywrapped in flannel and placed in the drawers, where theyremain six weeks before hatching, and great care is takento imitate the natural method as closely as possible. 10. The Rhea.—A smaller ostrich than the one we have RUNNING-BIRDS. 281 been speaking of, called the rhea, is found in South Amer-ica. It lives in flocks on the pampas, and is about one halfthe size of the African ostrich. 11. The Emu.—Another singular bird is the emu, whichis found only in Australia. It is nearly as large as theostrich, but it is not perched upon such long legs, and it
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Fie:. 187.—Emu and Wolves. 282 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE SEA AND ON THE LAND. has three toes on each foot. This is the only one of therunning-birds that wanders about in pairs, and its largeeggs are of a beautiful dark green color. 12. The Cassowary.—Running-birds are not numerous,and, as you may have noticed, each species that we havementioned so far is confined to a limited extent of coun-try. This is also true of the cassowary, which inhabitsNew Guinea and the Molucca Islands. The black plu-mage of this bird resem-bles the hair of a horsesmane, and its head isvery conspicuous, witha horny crest on top,while the naked throatis ornamented with redand blue wattles hang-ing in front. Its wingsare extremely small, andthey are armed with fivenaked quills. 13. The Apteryx.—Most curious of all therunning-birds is the ap-teryx, which is foundnowhere but in NewZealand. It has no tail, and the stumpy wings are quitehidden by its plumage. It digs a deep hole in the groundin which to deposit its

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