Such is the timidity of these birds that they seldom allow any person to approach within gun-shot of them. They fly slowly, and have some difficulty to rise from the ground, but, when in flight, they are able to continue their course for many miles without resting. Bustards feed on green corn and vegetables; and on worms, frogs, mice, and other animals. They form no nest, but the female lays her eggs, two in number, on the ground. The eggs are as large as those of a goose, and of pale olive-brown colour, marked with brown spots. 170. _The OSTRICH_ (Struthio camelus, Fig. 40) _is a bird of immense height, measuring from seven to nine feet from its head to the ground; and is distinguished by its extremely long neck, somewhat, conical bill, the wings not being formed for flight, and the feet having each only two toes._ _It inhabits extensive plains and deserts in the torrid regions of Asia and Africa._ Ostriches are pursued by the Arabs principally on account of their _feathers_, which are a considerable article of traffic. This people use the _fat_ of these birds in cookery; and they occasionally subsist upon the _flesh_. The _eggs_ of the ostrich are of large size, and, in the South of Africa, are considered a great delicacy. They are prepared for eating in various ways; but the best way is simply to bury them in hot ashes, and, through a hole made in the larger end, to stir the contents till they acquire the consistence of an omelet. Ostriches' eggs are capable of being preserved for a great length of time even at sea; and without any trouble of constantly turning them, as is requisite with hen's eggs. This is owing to the great thickness of the shells. At the Cape of Good Hope they are usually sold at the rate of about sixpence sterling each. The Egyptians suspend the shells of these eggs as ornaments, under the vaulted roofs of their houses; and they are frequently hung between lamps in the mosques of the Mahometans, and also in the Greek and Coptic churches. The _shells_ are cut by the Hottentots into necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments for the waist. In the eggs of the ostrich are frequently found a kind of small oval-shaped stones about the size of a marrowfat pea, which are sometimes set and used for buttons. The _skins_ of ostriches are employed by the Arabians as a substitute for leather.