There are two living species of ostrich: the common ostrich (Struthio camelus) and the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes).
Size and Weight:
The ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird.
The ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird.
Males are typically larger than females, weighing 220 to 287 pounds and standing 6.9 to 9 feet tall.
Meanwhile, females weigh 198 to 242 pounds and range in height from 5.7 to 6.2 feet.
Ostriches are the largest and heaviest birds in the world.
Instead, ostriches are great runners and can reach speeds of up to 43 miles per hour.
They have long, strong legs with two clawed toes, allowing them to reach such high speeds.
An ostrich has a long neck, prominent eyes and sweeping eyelashes.
Ostriches have the largest eye of any land animal.
Their long neck and excellent eyesight help them see great distances, allowing them to keep an eye out for predators.
Ostriches have unique feathers that are loose, soft and smooth, giving them a “shaggy” appearance.
Adult male ostriches are black with white wings and tail feathers, while immature birds and adult females have brownish-gray feathers.
Their diet varies according to the foods available in their habitat.
Ostriches also swallow sand, pebbles and small stones that help grind food in the gizzard.
As they eat many plants, ostriches do not need to drink water.
Ostrich habitats include savannas and desert regions.
Ostriches are native to Africa.
A male used his black and white coloration to attract a female.
It will sink to the ground like an arch and then wave and shake the feathers first on one wing then the other while moving its tail up and down.
After this movement, he gets up and moves towards the female, spreading his wings and stamping his feet to impress her.
The dominant hen mates with the territorial male, and they share the tasks of incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks.
The territorial male is polygamous and may mate with other females.
The other females may also mate with wandering males.
The other females lay their eggs in the same nest as the dominant hen’s eggs.
The nest is a shallow depression scratched into the earth by the male.
The dominant hen ensures that her eggs are closer to the center and therefore more likely to hatch successfully.
A community nest allows more eggs to successfully hatch for the flock.
A female ostrich lays 7 to 10 eggs at a time.
Ostrich eggs are the largest eggs, weighing around 3 pounds, measuring 6 inches in length and measuring 5 inches in diameter.
Only dinosaurs produced larger eggs.
When they hatch, the chicks are about the size of barnyard chickens, but they grow at a rate of 30 centimeters per month.
The chicks will start to leave the nest with their parents a few days after hatching.
At four months, they begin to show their adult plumage and by six months, they are the size of their parents.
Ostriches reach sexual maturity around three or four years of age, when males develop their black and white feathers.
Ostriches live in groups, which helps with defense.
They are normally found in flocks of around 10 birds or just a male and female pair, but sometimes gather in large flocks of 100 or more.
These groups have a hierarchy with a dominant male, a dominant female called the “main hen” and several other females.
The dominant male establishes and defends his territory.
Solitary males may also come and go during the breeding season.
In the wild, ostriches live 30-40 years.
But in captivity, ostriches have been known to live up to 70 years.
Ostriches have several natural predators, including cheetahs, lions, leopards, hunting dogs and spotted hyenas.
Other predators such as Egyptian vultures and jackals may take ostrich eggs.
When an ostrich senses danger and cannot run away from the threat, it throws itself to the ground and remains motionless with its head and neck resting on the ground, so that it blends into the ground.
When an adult ostrich is threatened, it attacks with a claw-like foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion.
Humans pose other major threats to ostrich populations and their habitats.
As human populations grow and expand, ostriches are losing their habitat.
Ostrich feathers have been popular in fashion for a long time.
In the 18th century, ostrich feathers were so popular in fashion, particularly in the hat industry, that ostrich populations declined.
Ostrich farming helped the population recover and is still continuing on a smaller scale.
Ostriches are raised and hunted for their feathers, skin, meat, eggs and fat.
The common ostrich is listed as “least concern” according to the IUCN Red List.
Meanwhile, the Somali ostrich is listed as “vulnerable”.
Strict protection and agriculture are needed to conserve the remaining ostrich populations.
Conservation groups and government agencies work to protect these populations.
For example, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park works with the red-necked ostrich in Niger and provides technical expertise and funding to develop and manage a breeding program for the birds.
This helps to establish secure and self-sustaining populations in that country.
The African Wildlife Foundation helps conserve ostrich populations by working with local communities to decide on an appropriate plan to bring tourism to the area.
Sources: San Diego Zoo and African Wildlife Foundation.