Ostriches

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by Sally K Church

Ma Huan comments on ostriches in his chapters on Dhofar, Aden and Makkah, based on specimens he saw on his travels with Zheng He's maritime expeditions, which took place in 1405-1433.

The word he uses for ostriches is "camel-fowl", which is not original with him. They were called by this name by earlier travellers and geographers.

- J. V. G. Mills, Ma Huan, Ying-yai sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores [1433], Hakluyt Society (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1970), pp. 153, 158, and 178.