Ostrich (Struthio camelus)
Overview
The ostrich is the world’s largest bird, reaching up to 2.6 m tall and weighing as much as 135 kg. Flightless but exceptionally fast runners, ostriches are well adapted to open, arid landscapes across Africa.
Males are black with white wingtips, while females are brown and white. Ostriches are mainly herbivores, eating grass, seeds, and berries, but also consume insects. They swallow pebbles to aid digestion.
Ostriches form social groups with dominant males competing for small harems of females. They nest communally in shallow ground scrapes, with up to 60 large, pale eggs incubated by both sexes—females by day, males by night for camouflage.
Contrary to myth, ostriches do not bury their heads. Males often care for the chicks after hatching. Once nearly hunted to extinction, ostriches have since been domesticated and are now widely farmed, especially in South Africa, for meat, leather, and feathers.
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