Birds and nature (1901) (14569095497)

Identifier: birdsnature1041901chic (find matches)

Title: Birds and nature

Year: 1900 (1900s)

Authors:

Subjects: Birds Natural history

Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher

Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries

Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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sa and of the prickly acacia. These trees are seldom more thantwelve or fifteen feet in height, and withits long legs and neck the Giraffe caneasily reach the appetizing twigs andleaves on the broad flat top of the tree.Moving from one side to another, as ifthe tree were a table spread for its use,it throws out its long snake-like tongue,which it can manipulate with great dex-terity and which it uses as an elephantdoes its trunk. When we rememberthat the largest animals are sometimeseighteen feet in height, and that thetongue is seventeen or eighteen inches inlength, we can see how easily the Giraffecan take its breakfast, while the tree thatfurnishes it serves also as a screen orshield to conceal it from its enemies. From the fact that the giraffe willabide in localities which are waterlessfor months at a time, it has been sup-posed that water was not necessary forits comfort. This is far from the truth,and it has frequently been seen to drink;its appearance when drinking is most 182

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447 GIRAFFt..(Camelopardalis giraffa) peculiar, and one who has witnessed thecurious operation tells us that althoughthe animals neck is so long, it can notreach the water without straddling itslegs wide apart. This it does by placingone foot forward and the other as farback as possible, increasing the distancebetween them by a series of little jerks,9.nd sometimes they sprawl their legs outsideways in a similar manner. It is at the watering place that thelion lies in concealment waiting for theGiraffe to appear. Should it remain un-conscious of the lions presence, the vic-tory is to the lion, but in the open theGiraffe has an equal chance with theking of beasts, for it can defend itselfvaliantly and successfully with vigorousblows from its powerful limbs. Thesmall horns are not used as a means ofjlefense; they are covered with skin, and&t birth the bones are separate, becomingattached to the skull at a later period,while the third small horn, especiallyobservable in the male, is

birds and nature 1901 giraffa camelopardalis illustrations book illustrations ornithology birds zoological illustration natural history ultra high resolution high resolution images from internet archive public domain bird images

1901

American Museum of Natural History Library

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