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Professional JavaScript for Web Developers 3rd Edition
Nicholas C. Zakas Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Nicholas C. Zakas
ISBN(s): 9781118026694, 1118026691
Edition: 3
File Details: PDF, 51.38 MB
Year: 2012
Language: english
ffirs.indd iv 12/8/11 12:54:54 PM
 PROFESSIONAL
JAVASCRIPT® FOR WEB DEVELOPERS

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii

CHAPTER 1 What Is JavaScript? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHAPTER 2 JavaScript in HTML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
CHAPTER 3 Language Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
CHAPTER 4 Variables, Scope, and Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
CHAPTER 5 Reference Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CHAPTER 6 Object-Oriented Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
CHAPTER 7 Function Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
CHAPTER 8 The Browser Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
CHAPTER 9 Client Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
CHAPTER 10 The Document Object Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
CHAPTER 11 DOM Extensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
CHAPTER 12 DOM Levels 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
CHAPTER 13 Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
CHAPTER 14 Scripting Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
CHAPTER 15 Graphics with Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
CHAPTER 16 HTML5 Scripting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
CHAPTER 17 Error Handling and Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
CHAPTER 18 XML in JavaScript. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
CHAPTER 19 ECMAScript for XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
CHAPTER 20 JSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
CHAPTER 21 Ajax and Comet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
CHAPTER 22 Advanced Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731
CHAPTER 23 Offline Applications and Client-Side Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
CHAPTER 24 Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801

Continues

ffirs.indd i 12/8/11 12:54:52 PM

 CHAPTER 25 Emerging APIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
APPENDIX A ECMAScript Harmony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
APPENDIX B Strict Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
APPENDIX C JavaScript Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885
APPENDIX D JavaScript Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

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 PROFESSIONAL

JavaScript® for Web Developers

ffirs.indd iii 12/8/11 12:54:54 PM

ffirs.indd iv 12/8/11 12:54:54 PM
 PROFESSIONAL

JavaScript® for Web Developers

Third Edition

Nicholas C. Zakas

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ffirs.indd v 12/8/11 12:54:54 PM

 Professional JavaScript® for Web Developers, Third Edition
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-02669-4
ISBN: 978-1-118-22219-5 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-118-23309-2 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-118-26080-7 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is
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trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affi liates, in the United States and other
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product or vendor mentioned in this book.

ffirs.indd vi 12/8/11 12:54:56 PM

 To my parents, who never cease to support and inspire me.

ffirs.indd vii 12/8/11 12:54:56 PM

ffirs.indd viii 12/8/11 12:54:56 PM
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NICHOLAS C. ZAKAS has been working with the web for over a decade. During that
time, he has worked both on corporate intranet applications used by some of the
largest companies in the world and on large-scale consumer websites such as My
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! homepage. As a presentation architect at Yahoo!, Nicholas
guided front-end development and standards for some of the most-visited websites in
the world. Nicholas is an established speaker and regularly gives talks at companies,
conferences, and meetups regarding front-end best practices and new technology.
He has authored several books, including Professional Ajax and High Performance JavaScript,
and writes regularly on his blog at http://www.nczonline.net/. Nicholas’s Twitter handle is
@slicknet.

ABOUT THE TECHNICAL EDITOR

JOHN PELOQUIN is a front-end engineer with over ten years of JavaScript experience ranging across
applications of all sizes. John earned his B.A. in mathematics from the University of California at
Berkeley and is currently a lead developer for a health care startup where he makes use of the latest
in front-end technologies. Prior to editing this volume, John edited JavaScript 24-Hour Trainer
by Jeremy McPeak (Wiley, 2010). When he is not coding or collecting errata, John is often found
engaged in mathematics, philosophy, or juggling.

ffirs.indd ix 12/8/11 12:54:57 PM

ffirs.indd x 12/8/11 12:54:57 PM
 CREDITS

EXECUTIVE EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER

Carol Long Tim Tate

SENIOR PROJECT EDITOR VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE GROUP

Kevin Kent PUBLISHER
Richard Swadley
TECHNICAL EDITOR
John Peloquin VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE
PUBLISHER
PRODUCTION EDITOR Neil Edde
Kathleen Wisor
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
COPY EDITOR Jim Minatel
Katherine Burt
PROJECT COORDINATOR, COVER
EDITORIAL MANAGER
Katie Crocker
Mary Beth Wakefield
PROOFREADER
FREELANCER EDITORIAL MANAGER
Nicole Hirschman
Rosemarie Graham

INDEXER
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
David Mayhew Robert Swanson

MARKETING MANAGER COVER DESIGNER

Ashley Zurcher LeAndra Young

BUSINESS MANAGER COVER IMAGE

Amy Knies © iStock/Andrew Rich

ffirs.indd xi 12/8/11 12:54:57 PM

ffirs.indd xii 12/8/11 12:54:58 PM
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

EVEN THOUGH THE AUTHOR’S NAME is the one that graces the cover of a book, no book is the result
of one person’s efforts, and I’d like to thank a few of the people involved in this one.
First and foremost, thanks to John Wiley & Sons for continuing to give me opportunities to write.
They were the only people willing to take a risk on an unknown author for the fi rst edition of
Professional JavaScript for Web Developers, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Thanks to the staff of John Wiley & Sons, specifically Kevin Kent and John Peloquin, who both
did an excellent job keeping me honest and dealing with my frequent changes to the book as I
was writing.
I’d also like to thank everyone who provided feedback on draft chapters of the book: Rob Friesel,
Sergey Ilinsky, Dan Kielp, Peter-Paul Koch, Jeremy McPeak, Alex Petrescu, Dmitry Soshnikov, and
Juriy “Kangax” Zaytsev. Your feedback made this book something that I’m extremely proud of.
A special thanks to Brendan Eich for his corrections to the history of JavaScript included in Chapter 1.
Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Rey Bango for writing the foreword of this book. I had the
pleasure of meeting Rey for the fi rst time in 2010 after conversing online for several years. He’s one
of the truly nice guys in the industry, and I’m honored that he agreed to lend his time to this book.

ffirs.indd xiii 12/8/11 12:54:58 PM

ffirs.indd xiv 12/8/11 12:54:58 PM
 CONTENTS

FOREWORD xxxi

INTRODUCTION xxxiii

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS JAVASCRIPT? 1

A Short History 2
JavaScript Implementations 3
ECMAScript 3
The Document Object Model (DOM) 6
The Browser Object Model (BOM) 9
JavaScript Versions 10
Summary 11

CHAPTER 2: JAVASCRIPT IN HTML 13

The <script> Element 13

Tag Placement 16
Deferred Scripts 16
Asynchronous Scripts 17
Changes in XHTML 18
Deprecated Syntax 20
Inline Code versus External Files 20
Document Modes 20
The <noscript> Element 22
Summary 22

CHAPTER 3: LANGUAGE BASICS 25

Syntax 25
Case-sensitivity 25
Identifiers 26
Comments 26
Strict Mode 27
Statements 27
Keywords and Reserved Words 28
Variables 29
Data Types 31
The typeof Operator 31

ftoc.indd xv 12/8/11 12:56:22 PM

 CONTENTS

The Undefined Type 32

The Null Type 33
The Boolean Type 34
The Number Type 35
The String Type 41
The Object Type 44
Operators 45
Unary Operators 46
Bitwise Operators 49
Boolean Operators 56
Multiplicative Operators 59
Additive Operators 61
Relational Operators 63
Equality Operators 65
Conditional Operator 67
Assignment Operators 67
Comma Operator 68
Statements 69
The if Statement 69
The do-while Statement 70
The while Statement 70
The for Statement 71
The for-in Statement 72
Labeled Statements 73
The break and continue Statements 73
The with Statement 75
The switch Statement 76
Functions 78
Understanding Arguments 80
No Overloading 83
Summary 83

CHAPTER 4: VARIABLES, SCOPE, AND MEMORY 85

Primitive and Reference Values 85

Dynamic Properties 86
Copying Values 86
Argument Passing 88
Determining Type 89
Execution Context and Scope 90
Scope Chain Augmentation 92
No Block-Level Scopes 93

xvi

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 CONTENTS

Garbage Collection 96
Mark-and-Sweep 96
Reference Counting 97
Performance 98
Managing Memory 99
Summary 100

CHAPTER 5: REFERENCE TYPES 103

The Object Type 104

The Array Type 106
Detecting Arrays 110
Conversion Methods 110
Stack Methods 112
Queue Methods 113
Reordering Methods 114
Manipulation Methods 116
Location Methods 118
Iterative Methods 119
Reduction Methods 121
The Date Type 122
Inherited Methods 124
Date-Formatting Methods 125
Date/Time Component Methods 126
The RegExp Type 128
RegExp Instance Properties 131
RegExp Instance Methods 132
RegExp Constructor Properties 134
Pattern Limitations 136
The Function Type 136
No Overloading (Revisited) 138
Function Declarations versus Function Expressions 138
Functions as Values 139
Function Internals 141
Function Properties and Methods 143
Primitive Wrapper Types 146
The Boolean Type 148
The Number Type 149
The String Type 151
Singleton Built-in Objects 161
The Global Object 162
The Math Object 166
Summary 170
xvii

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 CONTENTS

CHAPTER 6: OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING 173

Understanding Objects 173

Types of Properties 174
Defining Multiple Properties 178
Reading Property Attributes 179
Object Creation 180
The Factory Pattern 180
The Constructor Pattern 181
The Prototype Pattern 184
Combination Constructor/Prototype Pattern 197
Dynamic Prototype Pattern 198
Parasitic Constructor Pattern 199
Durable Constructor Pattern 200
Inheritance 201
Prototype Chaining 202
Constructor Stealing 207
Combination Inheritance 209
Prototypal Inheritance 210
Parasitic Inheritance 211
Parasitic Combination Inheritance 212
Summary 215

CHAPTER 7: FUNCTION EXPRESSIONS 217

Recursion 220
Closures 221
Closures and Variables 224
The this Object 225
Memory Leaks 227
Mimicking Block Scope 228
Private Variables 231
Static Private Variables 232
The Module Pattern 234
The Module-Augmentation Pattern 236
Summary 237

CHAPTER 8: THE BROWSER OBJECT MODEL 239

The window Object 239

The Global Scope 240
Window Relationships and Frames 241
Window Position 244

xviii

ftoc.indd xviii 12/8/11 12:56:23 PM

Other documents randomly have
different content
within a fortnight are "entirely self-dependent." The following
anecdote illustrative of the affection occasionally displayed by the
Ostrich for its little family is given by Anderson, who was an eye-
witness on the occasion, he and his friend, Mr. Galton, having come
upon a male and female escorting a brood of young ones of about
the size of Barn-door Fowls:—"The moment the parent birds became
aware of our intention, they set off at full speed, the female leading
the way, the young following in her wake, and the cock, though at
some little distance, bringing up the rear of the family party. It was
very touching to observe the anxiety the old birds evinced for the
safety of their progeny. Finding that we were quickly gaining upon
them, the male at once slackened his pace and diverged somewhat
from his course; but seeing that we were not to be diverted from our
purpose, he again increased his speed, and with wings drooping so
as almost to touch the ground, he hovered round us now in wide
circles, and then decreasing the circumference till he came almost
within pistol-shot, when he abruptly threw himself on the ground,
and struggled desperately to regain his legs, as it appeared, like a
bird that has been badly wounded. Having previously fired at him I
really thought he was disabled, and made quickly towards him, but
this was only a ruse on his part, for on my nearer approach he
slowly rose, and began to run in an opposite direction to that of the
female, who by this time was considerably ahead with her charge."
The eggs of the Ostrich are of an oval shape, and have a thick,
glossy, yellowish white shell, marked with pale yellow. According to
Hardy the weight of one fully equals that of twenty-four of the eggs
laid by the Domestic Fowl. To travellers in the African deserts these
huge eggs form a convenient and portable provision; their flavour is
excellent, and the shell so thick that they keep perfectly fresh for a
fortnight or three weeks. Tristram mentions having found Ostrich
egg omelette a most valuable addition to his desert bill of fare.
When two months old the young acquire a plumage similar to that of
the adult female; this is retained by both sexes for two years, when
the male exhibits black feathers and has attained his full size and
strength. The young Ostrich is easily domesticated, and is often kept
by the Arabs, living freely with the goats and camels, and showing
no disposition to escape. In some villages they are a sort of public
property and live in the bazaars, levying contributions for themselves
from the fruit-stalls.
The Romans highly esteemed the flesh of the Ostrich, and the
pseudo-Emperor Firmius is said to have devoured an entire bird at
one meal; the brain was regarded as a choice delicacy, and to
provide the Emperor Heliogabalus with a sufficient supper of this
luxurious diet, six hundred Ostriches, we are told, lost their lives.
They were also introduced into the Circus, and upon one occasion
no less than one thousand of them, together with a number of other
animals, fell victims to the cruel thirst for excitement that debased
the populace of Rome. In all parts of Southern and Central Africa,
the flesh, feathers, and eggs of the Ostrich are highly esteemed, and
form most valuable articles of traffic. A skin is in some parts worth
from forty to one hundred dollars, but the Arabs are in the habit of
thinning the feathers so that the trader rarely obtains a specimen on
which this tax has not been levied. Anderson describes a foot chase
of these birds, witnessed by himself, on the banks of Lake Ngami.
On this occasion the flock was entirely surrounded, and the terrified
birds driven with loud cries and a variety of strange noises into the
water. Moffat also gives an amusing account of another mode
adopted by the Bushmen for their destruction. A skin is stuffed with
straw so as to form a kind of saddle, and covered with feathers; this
is placed upon a man's head, his legs are painted white, and with
the head and neck of an Ostrich mounted upon a stick in one hand
and his gun in the other, he steals amidst an unsuspecting party, and
by imitating their gestures so completely deceives them as to his
identity, that they make no attempt to avoid the treacherous
intruder. Amongst the many ways employed to cook Ostrich eggs,
Burchell mentions that the Hottentots prepare them by boring a
small hole at one end; into this they insert a thin twig and stir the
contents briskly over a fire of hot ashes; when thus prepared they
are excellent.
The NANDUS (Rhea), as the American representatives of the Ostrich
are called, closely resemble their African brothers in general
formation, but have a somewhat shorter wing, and the foot
furnished with three toes. The bill is flat, of the same length as the
head, broad at its base, and rounded at its tip, and very similar to
that of the Ostrich. The toes are moderately long, connected by a
skin at their base, and armed with straight sharp claws, which are
compressed at their sides, bluntly rounded at their upper surface,
and sharply ridged beneath. The wings are furnished with long
plumes and terminated by a spur; the tail-feathers are entirely
wanting. The region of the eye, cheek-stripes, and a ring covered
with bristles that encircles the ear, are unfeathered and covered with
a wrinkled skin; the feathers on the head and throat are small,
narrow, and pointed; those on the rump are large, broad, and
rounded with a soft flowing web; the eyelids are furnished with large
stiff bristles. The male and female are almost alike in colour, but
differ in size. We are now acquainted with three members of the
above group.

THE TRUE NANDU, OR AMERICAN OSTRICH.

The TRUE NANDU, or AMERICAN OSTRICH (Rhea Americana), has the
plumage on the crown of the head, upper throat, nape, and upper
breast, and the bristles on the cheek-stripes of a blackish hue; the
centre of the throat is yellow, the rest of the neck and cheeks are
light lead-grey, and the back, sides of the breast, and wings
brownish grey; the other portions of the under side are dirty white.
The eyes are pearl-grey, the bare parts of the face flesh-colour; the
beak is greyish brown, and the foot grey. The female is
distinguishable by the paler tints of her neck and breast. An old
female measured by the Prince von Wied was fifty-two inches and
two-thirds in length, and seven feet across the span of the wings.
AN OSTRICH HUNT.
 NANDUS (Rhea Americana), WITH NEST AND EGGS.
The American Ostrich ranges south as far as forty-two or forty-three
degrees; it is abundant on the plains of La Plata, and, according to
Azara, is found in Paraguay. Mr. Darwin saw it within the first range
of mountains on the Uspalluta Plain, at an elevation of six or seven
thousand feet above the sea; but it does not cross the Cordilleras. At
Bahia Blanca the latter observer repeatedly saw three or four come
down at low water to the extensive mud-banks, which are then dry,
for the sake, as the Gauchos say, of catching small fish. Although
this Ostrich is in its habits so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so
fleet in its pace, it falls a prey without much difficulty to the Indian
or Gaucho, armed with the bolas. When several horsemen appear in
a circle it becomes confounded, and does not know which way to
escape; it prefers running against the wind, yet at the first start it
expands its wings like a vessel that makes all sail. On one fine hot
day Mr. Darwin saw several of these birds enter a bed of tall rushes,
where they squatted concealed until closely approached.
In Patagonia, at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes, Mr. King
several times saw Nandus swimming from island to island, a distance
of about two hundred yards; they ran into the water, both when
driven and of their own accord, and swam very slowly, with their
necks extended a little forward, only a small part of their bodies
appearing above the water. Mr. Darwin likewise on two occasions
observed some of these Ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz
River, where it was about four hundred yards wide and its course
rapid. The note of the male is described as being deep-toned and
hissing, and so peculiar as rather to resemble the noise of some wild
beast than the voice of any bird. At Bahia Blanca, in the months of
September and October, the eggs of the Nandu were found in
extraordinary numbers all over the country. They either lie scattered
singly—in which case they are never hatched and are called by the
Spaniards huachos—or they are collected together into a shallow
excavation which forms the nest. Out of four nests which Mr. Darwin
saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-
seven. In one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were
found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining
twenty were scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm—
and there is no reason to doubt their statement—that the male bird
alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies
the young. The male when on the nest lies very close, and may
almost be ridden over. It is asserted that at such times they are
occasionally very fierce and even dangerous, and that they have
been known to attack a man on horseback by trying to kick and leap
on him. There can be little doubt that several females deposit their
eggs in common; indeed, the Gauchos, says Darwin, "unanimously
assert that four or five have been watched and actually seen to go,
in the middle of the day, one after another to the same nest."
A family party of Nandus generally consists of a male and from five
to seven females, who seem to have possession of a space of
ground, from which all intruders in the shape of rivals are resolutely
excluded; but when the breeding season is over, several of these
families associate together, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to
see sixty of them forming one large flock, but they seldom wander
very far from their native place. In the autumn they seem to prefer
the neighbourhood of streams and marshy ground, where they find
fruit and berries, or they wander among the thistles first introduced
by the Spaniards, but now extending over thousands of miles of
fertile soil; while in the winter time they may be seen associating
with cattle, sharing with them the long fine grass.
In swiftness the Nandu is but little behind its African representative.
It can easily outrun and tire the best horse, not only by the
swiftness of its pace, but by the wonderful skill with which it makes
all sorts of windings and short cuts. The length of its usual step is
stated by Böcking to be from twenty to four-and-twenty inches.
When it raises its outstretched wings but still goes leisurely along, its
stride is about three feet and a half; but if pursued and going at full
speed each step covers at least five feet, and the movements of its
legs are so rapid that it is impossible to count its footsteps. Often
during the chase it will suddenly dart off from its direct course, with
one wing elevated and the other depressed, at an angle of twenty-
five or thirty degrees, and then with fierce speed resume its former
direction, springing over ditches or fissures twenty feet across with
the utmost ease; but it carefully avoids steep ascents, as over such
it makes its way with difficulty.
During the rainy season these birds live principally upon clover,
combined with such insects as happen to fall in their way. At a later
period they frequent the plains where cattle graze, and feed almost
exclusively upon grass; they show, nevertheless, a decided
preference for the more nutritious vegetables imported from Europe,
and often do considerable damage in the kitchen gardens of the
settlers. Their presence, however, is by no means devoid of utility.
One of their favourite articles of food consists of the unripe seeds of
a plant somewhat resembling the burdock, which, owing to its
abundance in some localities, is a serious detriment to the cattle-
breeder, seeing that the burrs which it produces get entangled in the
manes and tails of horses, or the fleeces of sheep, in which latter
case they render the wool absolutely useless, by causing it to
become as it were felted into inextricable knots and tangles, and
indeed not unfrequently leading to the death of the animal, by
producing sores that soon swarm with maggots, and occasion
intolerable irritation. Whoever has examined the contents of the
stomach of a Nandu, in the month of December, will have some idea
of the quantity of these seeds that are thus devoured, and
acknowledge that, were it only on account of the services thus
rendered to the farmer, the Nandus deserve all the protection which
they already enjoy at the hands of intelligent cattle-breeders. At all
times of the year, and at all ages, they feed indiscriminately on a
great variety of insects, and as the Guachos assert, also upon snakes
and other reptiles. Like our Barn-door Fowls, they swallow quantities
of small stones to facilitate the process of digestion. They drink but
seldom, the moisture derived from dew and rain appearing to satisfy
their ordinary wants; nevertheless, when they come to a pond, they
may be seen to indulge in a draught, very much after the manner of
chickens, scooping up the water with their beaks, and then holding
their necks outstretched, and thus allowing it to trickle down their
throats.
In the beginning of spring, which in the southern hemisphere is
about the month of October, those males which have attained the
age of two years, collect around them a seraglio of hen-birds,
varying in number from three to seven or more, and immediately
begin to drive all rivals from their vicinity, by formidable blows
inflicted with their beak and wings. They then at once begin their
courtship, by performing, apparently for the gratification of their
mates, a remarkable sort of dance; with wings outspread and trailing
upon the ground, they stalk hither and thither, or suddenly breaking
into a run, dart forward with great speed, beating the air with their
wings, and then checking their career, strut about, bowing to the
female with ludicrous assumption of dignity, and recommence the
same performance. During this exhibition the male invariably gives
utterance to a loud bellowing noise, and manifests every indication
of being in a state of great excitement. When in their native wilds,
the courage and pugnacity which they display at this season is of
course expended on their rivals, but when in captivity their anger
seems to extend to intruders of every description. Visitors and even
their keepers must beware of the formidable blows inflicted with
their hard beaks, or sometimes with their feet, as they kick much in
the same manner as the African Ostrich. For a very interesting
account of the proceedings of these birds during incubation we are
indebted to Bodinus. In the case of a pair which bred in the
Zoological Gardens of Cologne, he observed that the male, upon
whom alone devolves the duty of preparing a nest, did so by
continually moving about while sitting in a particular spot, until at
length, without any scratching or removal of the soil, a cavity was
formed in which the nest, consisting of a little dried grass, roughly
arranged, was placed. The female takes no share whatever in the
preparation of the nest. In the Pampas, before brooding time, which
begins there about the middle of December, solitary eggs, called by
the natives "foundlings," are everywhere to be met with; they seem
to be produced by females obliged to lay before the male has been
able to make preparations for their reception. The nest is generally a
shallow excavation in some dry spot of ground beyond the reach of
inundation, and usually so placed as to be concealed by thistles and
long grass. A very favourable locality is in holes made by the wild
cattle, who use them as a kind of dust-bed, wherein they shelter
themselves against the attacks of insects, until they have worn them
so deep as to be larger than convenient for themselves, but exactly
suited to the requirements of the male Nandu. Should, however, no
such ready-made excavation present itself, the bird must perforce
undertake the necessary labour of clearing a space of ground of the
overgrowing vegetation, lining it scantily with dried grass, a ring of
which material always surrounds the margin, and thus preparing it
for the reception of the eggs. The number of eggs laid by each
female has been a subject of much dispute. Azara relates that at
times seventy or eighty eggs have been found in a single nest, while
Darwin gives forty or fifty as the greatest number. Böcking tells us,
on the authority of the Guachos, that fifty eggs have been met with,
although he himself never saw more than twenty-three, and gives
from thirteen to seventeen as an average number from all the nests
he examined. The eggs themselves appear to be very variable in
size, some being not much larger than those of a Goose, while
others measure five inches in length. Around the nest, in a space
extending from its margin to a distance of fifty paces, "foundlings"
are always to be met with, and these appear to be fresher than the
eggs within the nest. The colour of the eggs is a dull yellowish
white, marked with small, greenish yellow dots, placed around the
large pores. If exposed to the sun, these colours rapidly fade,
insomuch that after a week's exposure the egg-shells are all snow-
white.
As soon as the nest has received its full complement, the male alone
undertakes the duties of incubation, the hens all retiring to a
distance; nevertheless, they generally keep together, and always
remain within the territory previously claimed by the master of the
family. During the night, and until the morning dew has been dried
up, the male never leaves his place upon the nest, but in the
daytime he allows himself greater liberty, and may be seen feeding
at irregular intervals, that depend upon the brightness of the sky or
the temperature of the weather. Towards the commencement of
incubation the male Nandu appears rather careless of his charge,
and upon the slightest alarm will leave his nest until the danger is
past; but at a later period he broods very assiduously, and will
sometimes sit still till he is nearly ridden over, springing up suddenly,
immediately before the unwary traveller, often frightening a spirited
horse, and putting his rider in great danger. Neither does the brood
always escape the consequences of such precipitancy, some of the
eggs being frequently trodden upon and crushed, or kicked out of
the nest by the frantic bird. The affection of the male Nandu for his
offspring is, however, more conspicuously visible when a traveller
approaches his brooding-place in a more leisurely manner. On such
occasions the anxious parent hastens to meet the intruder, with
wings outspread and ruffled feathers, limping slowly along and
staggering in a zigzag course, using every endeavour to divert the
attention of the stranger from the real cause of anxiety.
Although the sitting Nandu is by no means fond of visitors, he will
not desert the eggs so long as his nest is not actually disturbed, and
has even been known to continue sitting upon the residue after
some of the eggs have been taken away. In South America the
young Nandus make their appearance from the egg-shell about the
beginning of February. Their growth is surprisingly rapid, insomuch,
indeed, that chicks of a fortnight old are already a foot and a half
high. Even on the third or fourth day after they are hatched it would
be difficult for a man to overtake them in running, were it not that
when hotly pursued, young birds have a habit of falling flat upon the
ground, where they easily escape observation. For about five weeks
they follow their father only, but the female parents gradually join
the party until the family is complete. By the arrival of autumn, i.e.,
in April or May, the young birds have exchanged their first clothing of
down for a suit of dirty, yellowish grey feathers.

THE TRUE NANDU, OR AMERICAN OSTRICH (Rhea Americana).

In addition to the all-reaching destructiveness of mankind, the great
enemy to the Nandus is fire. About the time when these birds are
beginning to breed, the herdsmen are in the habit of taking
advantage of a high wind, for the purpose of burning the long dry
grass upon the vast steppes or prairies, in order to clear them from
the last year's straw. Before such a fire as is thus kindled all living
beings can only take refuge in the low-lying and wettest portions of
the country, and innumerable animals suffer a cruel death. On these
occasions the inhabitants of the district collect as a great prize all
the Nandus' eggs upon which they can lay their hands. One of these
eggs indeed is worth about fifteen Hens' eggs, and is with the
natives a very favourite dish. To prepare them, the narrow end is
broken open, the white, which is said to have a disagreeable taste, is
thrown away, and then having added a little butter, salt, and pepper,
the yolk is cooked by being stirred over the fire, using the egg-shell
as a saucepan. To boil one of these eggs hard in European fashion,
requires forty minutes. They are excellent for all culinary purposes,
but unfortunately will not keep. The flesh of the Nandu much
resembles horse-flesh in its colour, nevertheless the old birds are a
favourite dish among the Indians, while the young are not distasteful
even to European palates; they likewise afford a rich supply of oily,
semi-fluid fat, which while fresh is much esteemed, and used like
butter. Unfortunately, however, it soon becomes rancid, and is then
only useful for softening leather; and even for this purpose, in a
country so abounding in hides, it is not of much value. Out of the
skin covering the neck the Gauchos are in the habit of
manufacturing small bags, suitable for many domestic articles, while
from the flexible shafts of the feathers, boys construct springes with
which they catch water-fowl. The full-grown feathers of the mature
bird are likewise used as ornaments to the harness of horses, or are
woven into very beautiful rugs, the patterns of which are extremely
elegant and varied. Feathers of inferior value are made into bunches
for dusting furniture, while the best and largest afford plumes
scarcely inferior to those of the Ostrich.
Böcking estimates the duration of the life of the Nandu at fourteen
or fifteen years, and believes that many of them die from sheer old
age, inasmuch as he has observed individuals (especially in the
winter season) at the point of death, but exhibiting no external
injury or internal lesion to account for their condition.
With the exception of mankind, these gigantic and swift-footed birds
indeed might seem to enjoy an immunity from the attacks of any
ordinary assailants. Sometimes the adult may be surprised by a
prowling jaguar, or an Eagle may swoop upon the young, and by
chance carry off a victim, but such accidents would seem to be of
rare occurrence. Perhaps among the most inveterate of their foes
are the Spurred Lapwings (Hoplopterus spinosus), whose animosity
against these giants of the prairie is positively ludicrous. No sooner
does a Nandu approach a pair of these little birds than they set up
an intolerable screeching, like Crows on the appearance of a Hawk;
they strike at him with their wings, and by the pertinacity of their
attacks generally make him glad to get away from such contemptible
assailants, who valorously follow him for a little distance, and return
with every demonstration of triumph.
The chase of the Rhea is a very favourite exercise. The Indians and
the Gauchos hunt them on horseback, kill them with the bolas, or
course them with dogs bred for the purpose; indulging in this sport
not so much for the sake of the booty as for the purpose of testing
the swiftness and endurance of their noble horses, and their own
skill in throwing the bolas or the lasso. When a hunting party is
announced, numerous well-mounted horsemen assemble, and taking
advantage of the wind, approach the birds as closely as they can, at
a slow pace, until the moment when the Nandus begin to run, which
is the signal for man and horse to exert themselves to the uttermost,
and at length an individual is singled out and separated from the
flock as the special object of attack. In spite of the swiftness of the
poor bird, the Gauchos are soon close at his heels, and the
horseman who happens to gain the left side throws his bolas at the
devoted victim, which an instant afterwards falls to the ground a
mere shapeless mass of feathers, and rolls over killed by the
momentum of its own career.
Should the first horseman miss his aim another immediately takes
his place, and launches from his hand the terrible weapon. This is
repeated by successive riders, until the game is either brought
down, or succeeds in reaching some swamp, where the horses are
unable to follow.
The name of Nandu is an imitation of the cry of the male during the
breeding season. After pairing-time is over the tones are very
different, and not easily described. In the neighbourhood of the
peaceful settlers who leave them undisturbed, the Nandus become
so tame and trustful, that they may be seen associating with
tethered horses and milch-cows; indeed, they may be looked upon
as half domesticated, as they carelessly graze among the cattle, and
scarcely stir out of the way either of dogs or man. Nevertheless, no
sooner do they see the Gaucho, who hunts them, than away they
go, using every effort to escape, and displaying considerable cunning
in avoiding the observation of their enemy. The appearance of a
party of Indians puts them into an indescribable state of alarm; they
will fly before them for hours together, and even horses and herds of
cattle seem to share their dismay and accompany their flight; but if
the hunter, creeping upon his hands against the wind, manages to
get near a flock of Nandus and, lying flat down, waves a pocket-
handkerchief, the curiosity of the birds is at once excited and
gradually gets the better of their fear, until the whole flock with their
male leader at their head, with outstretched neck approaches within
gunshot of their wily enemy. To kill the Nandu with a gun, however,
requires a good marksman, as these birds are hard to kill, and will
often run a long way after receiving a ball. Should a flock of them be
beguiled in the way we have just described and one of them fall and
begin to struggle, the rest immediately come to its assistance with
most ridiculous gestures, as if they had St. Vitus' dance in their legs
and wings, and thus the sportsman is enabled to have a second
shot. The report of the gun, moreover, does not frighten them, for if
it misses they will come still nearer, as if to satisfy themselves as to
what may be the meaning of so much noise. A wounded Nandu
follows his companions as far as he can, and when exhausted, steps
on one side and is left to his fate. In South America these birds are
everywhere to be seen in a state of semi-domestication, having been
caught when young, and are allowed to run about without restraint;
they seem so much attached to the locality where they have been
reared, that towards evening they always come home of their own
accord. The Nandu is very generally met with in European zoological
gardens, where it requires less attention than any others of the
Ostrich race, and provided it has enough to eat, is content with the
simplest diet. Moreover, it seems quite able to bear the vicissitudes
of climate, and might at least become an ornament to our parks,
even were it useless for any other purpose.

THE LONG-BILLED NANDU.

The LONG-BILLED NANDU (Rhea macrorhyncha) is distinguished from
the species above described by its dark brown plumage, which on
the lower neck is nearly black, and on the upper neck of a whitish
grey colour.

THE DWARF NANDU.

The DWARF NANDU (Rhea Darwinii) is smaller than the preceding; its
plumage is principally of a light brownish grey, each feather being
enlivened by a whitish edge. This species, which is named after Mr.
Darwin, was first heard of by him in North Patagonia, where it is
called the avestruy petise. The eggs were well known to the Indians,
who described them as being a little smaller than those of the
Common Rhea, but of a slightly different form, and of a blue tinge.
Several of these birds were met with at Santa Cruz in parties of four
or five, or in pairs. Unlike the more northern species, they did not
spread their wings when starting at full speed.
 THE EMU (Dromæus Novæ Hollandiæ).

The EMUS (Dromæus), a group of strange and interesting birds

inhabiting Australia, form as it were the connecting link between the
Ostrich and the Cassowary, nearly resembling the former in their
general appearance, but differing from it in the comparative
shortness of their legs and neck, and the less prominent
development of the hinder parts of the body. The beak is straight,
compressed at its sides, round at its extremity, and furnished with a
ridge at its culmen; the large nostrils are covered with a skin and
situated in the centre of the bill. The wings and tail are but slightly
developed, the strong legs are covered with scales, and the foot
furnished with three toes armed with powerful claws. At a distance
the plumage somewhat resembles hair, the webs of the feathers
being all loose and separate; as is the case with the Ostrich, they
take their origin by pairs from the same shaft. The wings are clothed
with feathers exactly resembling those of the back, which divide
from a middle line and fall gracefully over on either side. The entire
plumage is of a dull brown, mottled with dirty grey; the feathers on
the head and neck becoming gradually shorter, and so thinly placed,
that the purplish hue of the skin of the throat and a patch round the
ears is perfectly visible. The sexes differ but little in size, and are
alike in colour. We have to thank Dr. Bennett for the first full account
of these remarkable birds, drawn from observation of several kept
about his own house. With their life in a wild state we are
unfortunately but little acquainted, except that they frequent the
open plains in large flocks, and are especially numerous about
Botany Bay and Port Jackson.

THE EMU.
The EMU (Dromæus Novæ-Hollandiæ) is larger than the Nandu, but
inferior in size to the Ostrich, its height usually not exceeding six
feet. Australian hunters have occasionally killed specimens
measuring seven feet to the crown of the head. The coloration of
the plumage is principally of a uniform pale brown, of a darker shade
on the head, throat, and centre of the back, and paler on the under
side. The eye is light brown, the beak horn-grey, and the foot pale
brown; the bare parts of the face are of a greyish tinge.
This bird is much valued on account of the clear, bright yellow oil
extracted from it. This is obtained by boiling, and employed both for
burning and as an excellent liniment in gouty cases.
Dr. Bennett informs us that the natives regard the flesh as a highly
luscious treat when cooked with the skin on, and that the fibula or
small bone of the leg is employed by them as an ornament.
The flesh of the Emu, according to Mr. Cunningham, resembles beef
"both in appearance and taste, and is good and sweet eating;
nothing indeed can be more delicate than the flesh of the young.
There is, however, but little of it fit for culinary use upon any part
except the hind-quarters, which are of such dimensions that the
shouldering of two hind legs homewards for a mile's distance
proved," he says, "as tiresome a task as he ever encountered in the
colony."
Dr. Leichardt "found the flesh of these birds of the greatest service
during his overland route from Moreton Bay to Port Essington," in
the course of which, but more particularly between the head of the
Gulf of Carpentaria and Port Essington, the sight and capture of
Emus was almost a daily occurrence; so abundant, in fact, were
they, that he saw in the short space of eight miles at least one
hundred, in flocks of three, five, ten, and even more at a time. Some
curious practices exist with respect to this bird among the natives,
and young men and boys are not allowed to feed upon it. The note
of the Emu is a low, booming or pumping noise, which is produced
in the female by means of the expansion and contraction of a large
membranous bag, surrounding an oblong opening through the rings
of the trachea; whether this peculiarity of structure is to be found in
the male, we are not aware. The Emus pair with tolerable constancy,
and the male bird appears to take a large share in the task of
incubation. The eggs, which are merely placed in a cavity scooped in
a sandy soil, are six or seven in number, and of a beautiful dark
green, resembling shagreen in appearance; they are five inches and
three-quarters long, by three inches and three-quarters in breadth.
The eggs are held in much esteem by the natives, who feed upon
them whenever they can be procured.
The nest of the Emu is situated, as we are informed by Dr. Bennett,
in a scrub upon the hills, where a space is scraped, similar to those
formed by brooding hens. The sticks and leaves, which alone
compose the nest, are laid round the cleared spot, and here the
eggs are deposited without regard to regularity, the number varying
from nine to thirteen. It is a curious circumstance that there is
always an odd number. It is now ascertained beyond a doubt that
the eggs are hatched by incubation, and not, as was once supposed,
by solar heat. They are of large size, and of a beautiful blueish green
colour.
 THE SPOTTED EMU.
The SPOTTED EMU (Dromæus irroratus) is readily distinguished from
the above birds by its comparatively slender build, weaker feet,
longer toes, and the spots upon its plumage. This species differs
from the Dromæus Novæ-Hollandiæ in having the whole of the
body-feathers distinctly marked with narrow transverse bars of light
grey and brownish black; the feathers on the back and sides are
broader, longer, and less silky in texture than those of the common
kind, the latter difference being quite evident to the touch. The
upper part of the body and the neck are nearly black, and the
feathers appear thicker than those on the same parts in the other
species. "Having seen," says Mr. Gould, "adult and youthful examples
of this Emu, all bearing the characters which suggested its specific
name, I have no doubt of its being distinct from the D. Novæ-
Hollandiæ. I am almost equally certain that it is confined to the
western division of Australia, and that it represents there the Emu of
the eastern coast. Whether the two species incubate in South
Australia, and if the present bird extends its range to north and
north-west, future research must determine."

The CASSOWARIES (Casuarii) are distinguishable from the group

above described by their compact body, short thick neck, low but
powerful legs, as also by the helmet that adorns their head, the
peculiarity of their plumage, and the formation of their beak and
toes. In these birds the bill is straight, compressed at its sides,
arched at its culmen, slightly hooked at its tip, and incised at both
margins; the small, oval-shaped nostrils are situated at the
extremity, and the elevated, compressed helmet at the base of the
beak; the neck, which is bare and brightly coloured on its upper
portion, is furnished with either one or two lappets; the wings
consist of five strong, unwebbed, and rounded shafts; the tail is not
developed; the long robust tarsi are covered with hexagonal scales
except near the toes, where the scales are transverse. The lateral
toes are longer than the middle one, and the outer toe longest of all;
the claws are moderate and blunt, that on the centre toe very long
and powerful. The plumage resembles hair rather than feathers, the
webs being disunited and streaming. Five, or according to Gould six,
species of these remarkable birds have been discovered, but with
three of them we are almost entirely unacquainted; even the habitat
of the C. uniappendiculatus and C. bicarunculatus is uncertain. We
also know nothing of the C. Kaupii, the type of the race, except that
it was found by Rosenberg in New Guinea, and called by him after
Kaup the naturalist.

THE HELMETED CASSOWARY.

The HELMETED CASSOWARY (Casuarius galeatus) is principally black, the
face greenish blue, and the back of the head grey; the front of the
neck is violet, its sides blue, and its hinder portion bright red. The
eye is reddish brown, the beak black, and the foot greyish yellow.
The plumage of the young has a brownish tinge; the habitat of this
species appears to be confined to the forests on the island of Ceram,
where it was discovered by the Dutch traveller, Forster. We are
almost entirely ignorant of the habits of these strange birds in their
native wilds.

THE MOORUK.
The MOORUK (Casuarius Bennettii). The Mooruk is considerably
smaller and shorter than the Cassowary, and has much thicker legs.
The helmet rises high at the base and then branches out into two
overhanging lobes, the horny part which unites them being lowest in
the centre. The back part of this elevated crest is flat, and rises
rather obliquely from the head near the occiput. A specimen sent to
England by Dr. Bennett, when it first arrived, was rufous mixed with
black on the back and under part of the body, and raven-black about
the neck and breast; the loose wavy skin of the neck was beautifully
coloured with iridescent tints of blueish purple, pink, and an
occasional shade of green; and the feet and legs were of a pale ash-
colour. It afterwards became generally darker, the bare skin of the
fore part of the neck of a more uniform smalt-blue, and the legs
somewhat darker in colour. The large strong feet and legs exhibit a
remarkable peculiarity in the extremity of the claw of the inner toe, it
being nearly three times as large as the other claws. The horny plate
on the top of the head resembles mother-of-pearl darkened with
blacklead. The form of the bill differs considerably from that of the
Emu (Dromæus Novæ-Hollandiæ), being longer and more curved,
with a black and leathery cere. Behind the horny head-plate rises a
small tuft of black, hair-like feathers which are continued in greater
or less number over most parts of the neck.
The Mooruk, according to Gould, lives exclusively in the gullies and
humid parts of dense forests, and feeds upon the roots of ferns and
plants peculiar to such situations. The first specimen ever seen in
Europe was purchased by Dr. George Bennett, so well known from
his contributions to science, and sent by him to the Zoological
Society of London. The bird was obtained at a native village lying at
the foot of two hills, called by navigators the "Mother and Daughter,"
and situated on that part of the coast of New Britain lying between
Cape Palliser and Cape Stephen. In 1858 Dr. Bennett purchased two
other specimens brought to Sydney by Captain Devlin, who bought
them in New Britain and had had them in his possession for eight
months. According to the statement of that gentleman, the natives
of that part capture them when very young and rear them by hand.
The adults it is impossible to make prisoners, as they are remarkably
swift and possess great strength in the legs; on the least alarm they
at once dart into thick brushwood, where no human being could
follow them, and disappear like magic. We can do no better than
give our readers the benefit of Bennett's own graphic and
circumstantial account of this Cassowary, which he alone has been at
the trouble of training and closely observing:—"My birds," says that
naturalist, "when placed in the yard walked about as tame as
Turkeys. They approached any one who came into the yard, pecking
the hand as if desirous of being fed, and were very docile. They
began by pecking at a bone, probably not having tasted any meat
for some time, and would not while engaged upon it touch some
boiled potatoes which were thrown to them; indeed, we found
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