File:Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture (1913) (14748924385).jpg

Identifier: ourdomesticbirds00robi_0 (find matches)
Title: Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Robinson, John H. (John Henry), 1863-1935
Subjects: Poultry Pigeons Cage birds
Publisher: Boston, New York (etc.) Ginn and company
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

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saidto resemble the roar of a lion as heard at a distance. The voiceof the female is like that of the male, but very faint. The difference in the plumage of the sexes, although it is notcomplete until after the second adult molt, is noticeable muchearlier. The females do not begin to lay until three or fouryears old. The males are not fully matured until four or fiveyears of age. Ostriches are very long-lived. Birds whose agecould be verified have lived as long as forty-five years in cap-tivity, and at that age were profitable as breeders and also asfeather producers. It is believed by some of those most com-petent to judge such matters that under favorable circumstan-ces an ostrich might live a hundred years or more. Very fewof the birds kept in domestication die of old age. They are OSTRICHES 233 so stupid, and their long legs, though strong for running, areso easily broken, that an accident of some kind almost alwaysends the life of an ostrich long before it has passed its prime. 1
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Fig. 1S0. Front view of male and female ostriches. (Photograph from theBureau of Animal Industry. United States Department of Agriculture) The name ostrich has an interesting history. The Greekscalled this singular bird strutkion*. This came into the Latinlanguage as struthio. In low Latin, avis, the Latin word forbird. was prefixed to what remained of the Greek name, 234 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS giving avis struthio. Ostrich is a contraction of this lowLatin compound. So we have in this name a combination oftwo words from different languages, having the same meaning.The terms cock, hen, and chick are used with thename of the species, to designate respectively the adult male,the adult female, and the young before the first plucking. Origin and history in domestication. The domestic ostrichis the wild African ostrich in captivity. It is probable that theostrich was familiar to the people of Xorthern Africa, and wasknown to those of the adjacent parts of Asia and Europe, inprehistoric times.

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