e 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 m