Measurements

The largest living bird.

Height: 2.5m

Weigh: 65 -130kg

Identification

Males are jet black with white plumage and bright red or blue skin; females are fairly uniform in color, with earthy gray-brown plumage and skin color.

The flight-less ostrich has lost the strong, stiff feathers of the wing and tail of typical bird species. A growth of soft plumage, with almost the warmth of down, acts as an insulation against the harsh temperature endured in the African savanna. The ostrich's wings are very small. Two of the wing fingers end in claws or spurs that can be used in attack.

Habitat and Distribution

In the open dry grasslands of East Africa, South Africa, and in the Sahara and adjacent Sahel area.

Behaviour

Ostriches are nomadic, wandering wherever food is most readily available. However, they never stray very far from water, of which they need 8 litres a day. The ostrich's most important senses are its excellent eyesight and hearing. Like a giraffe, the ostrich is an important sentinel for many African grazing mammals such as antelopes, zebras and giraffes.

In addition to speed, their long legs adapt them to roam great distances in search of food and water, and are capable of powerful kicks against predators. The ostrich's thick eyelashes protect its eyes during sand storms.

The ostrich is perfectly adapted to a mode of life that depends on running to escape predators. It has evolved a cloven hoof consisting of only two toes, similar to that of the other animals that share its plain's existence.

Living in flocks of between 5 and 50.

Ostriches stretch out their neck and lay their head on the ground to keep from being seen, hence the myth that ostriches hide in the sand.

Diet

Ostriches eat mainly grasses, insects, fruits, seeds, and nuts and sometimes on small mammals and reptiles which they chase by running.

Stones are ingested to aid in digestion.

Reproduction

A male will mate with several females, pair bonding with a dominant female. He gathers around him a harem of 3 to 5 females, all of which lay their eggs in the same nest over a 3 week period. Thus, a clutch of about 25 eggs is laid in the nest, which is nothing more than a shallow scrape, which has been made by the male.

In the wild; mating and egg laying will occur shortly before the onset of the rainy season, so that when the chicks hatch food will be plentiful for them until they are several months old.

The eggs are almost spherical in shape, about 6 inches long and equivalent in volume to about 20 hens' eggs (1.5 - 2kg). Such a clutch laid on open ground presents a significant meal to a jackal, the dominant predator. Only about half of the ostrich eggs that are laid hatch out.

A female ostrich shows a remarkable ability to recognize her own eggs even when mixed in with those of other females in their communal nest.

The completed clutch is incubated by the male at night and the dominant female during the day. The reason for this is that at night the dark feathers of the male ostrich makes detection by predators more difficult. Likewise, during the day the female's lighter brown feathers blend in with the surrounding grassland colors. Shortly before the eggs hatch, the chicks will start calling from inside the shell, so the parents will recognise their calls once they are hatched. The young hatch after 45 days. The chicks run about within minutes of hatching.

The parents keep close watch over the chicks constantly. They will leading them to food (seeds and vegetation), water and they will provide shade for them. Even with the protection of the parents only about 1 chick in 10 will survive its first year of life. The chick becomes independent at the age of 1 year.

Ostriches begin breeding at the age of 4 and their lifespan is between 30 to 60 years.

Extensive hunting for feathers, meat, and skin coupled with overgrazing by domestic animals on their habitat has lead to the near extinction of the ostrich from the Middle East and North and South Africa. Although they are not globally threatened, the four subspecies of ostrich require strict protection and farming has helped to conserve the wild populations. The world-wide population is estimated to be in the region of 2 million birds.

Arabian and West African Ostrich listed as endangered by USFWS. Specific populations are protected under CITES.