Hey! We are birds, the largest living birds on earth, the Ostriches. With smaller brain and bigger eyes, we are strongest and very fast birds on the planet alive. In fact, there are Ostrich racing tournaments in some countries. Want to know more? There is a lot of information that we would love to tell you about us.
Here are some of them:
- We are the largest living birds on the planet with a height of 1.7m-2m. We can even reach up to a height of 2.7m.
- Our eggs are the biggest of all the eggs in the world. The biggest egg in the world weighed 2.589kg and belonged to an Ostrich raising in a farm of Sahlin, Sweden.
- We the biggest eyes compared to any other animal. In fact, our brain is smaller than our eyes.
- We are not only tall but are very fast, in fact, we are the fastest land birds in the world and can run up to 95kmph. There is even a sport called ostrich racing where we are ridden similar to horses with saddles on the back of us.
- Do you know? Our feathers are actually used as a decorative and also as a feather duster.
- We are ancient birds and interacted with ancient humans too. Our statues are found in tombs of Egypt belonging to the 5000-year-old Mesopotamia. And eggs are used as water containers by Hunter-gatherers of Kalahari Deserts in the stone age.
- Do you know? We were almost driven into extinction in the 18th century, but our population has recovered gradually. Now we are abundant.
- There is a myth shown in cartoons and other shows that when we are threatened, we put our heads in the sand, this is not true. This myth began with Pliny the Elder (AD 23- 79), who wrote that Ostriches: “imagine when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed”. When threatened we run away.
- Our adaptability is so good that we can live in places like Africa (hot) and also Alaska (cool).
- Did you know? Our huge feathers help us in thermoregulation (maintaining body temperatures).
SOME QUICK FACTS ABOUT US:
Our Scientific Name: Struthio Camelus.
Our Identification: Very big flightless bird with long neck, long legs and a small head.
Our Habitat: Grasslands, semi-deserts, and plains.
Our Range:
Food Habits: Omnivores, feed on seeds, shrubs, grass, fruit, flowers, insects and locusts.
Breeding Period: March or April to September.
Number of eggs laid: up to 10 eggs.
Incubation period: 35-45 days.
Lifespan: average 50 years.
IUCN red list status: Least Concern.
CITES: Appendix I
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Not listed.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Struthionidae
Genus: Struthio
Species: S. camelus
COMPLETE DETAILS FOR STUDENTS AND ENTHUSIASTS:
We are the largest birds of the world, the Ostriches.
We are North African ostriches also called as red-necked ostriches and are one of the two species of flightless birds that are native to West and North Africa. And also known as “Barbary Ostrich”.
Ostriches are scientifically called as Struthio Camelus.
How We Look:
We are large birds with long neck and legs. A male ostrich is about 2.8 m tall and a female is about 1.7-2 m tall. Both males and females weigh about 63-145 kg with females being a little lesser.
Our feathers are highly modified and our long eyelashes on our head protect our eyes. We have the largest eyes among all the vertebrates. Our long legs are bare-skinned and skin color is pinkish-red to red.
We have two toes unlike other birds. The outer toe doesn’t have a nail. Our black and white feathers are present symmetrically on both sides.
Males and females look alike, and the young ones are hairy and brown in color.
We Are Found In:
We prefer living in habitats like grasslands, semi-deserts, and plains.
Our range lies in the west and north parts of Africa; in countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Southern Morocco.
What We Eat:
We are omnivores like many birds and mainly feed on seeds, shrubs, grass, fruit, and flowers. We occasionally eat insects like locusts.
We also eat pebbles and sand along with the food which helps us to grind the food as we don’t have teeth.
Notably, we can live for several days without water and can even survive when we lose 25% of our body weight due to dehydration.
Our Reproduction:
A male of our kind has several females along his side. It attracts the female by performing with wings and attracting a mate. Mating season is in March or April to September. The female ostrich lays its eggs in a simple pit of about 30-60 cm deep and 3 m wide.
The dominant female lays its eggs first and discards other female’s eggs that she considers extra. The eggs are glossy cream colored and have thick shells. The eggs have an incubation period of about 35-45 days.
After they hatch, the male defends the young chicks and teaches them to feed. Sexual maturity for males is 2- 4 years and for females, it Is 6 months less.
We are one of the longest living bird species and when taken care in captivity we can live up to 62 years of age.
More About Us:
Being the largest bird, we have the largest eyes among any vertebrates.
Female of our species lays the largest eggs in the world which is 15 cm long and 13 cm wide.
As we are tall, we can sense predators very easily and have acute eyesight and hearing.
Our legs are very well built for running on the ground and we can reach speeds up to 70 kmph.
We can live in diverse temperatures and are known for our thermal regulation using our feathers.
Our Conservation:
Though we are under “least concern” in IUCN red list, our subspecies of North African Ostrich is “critically endangered” under CITES Appendix I. The Sahara Conservation Fund aims to save this subspecies from extinction and restore its population through reintroducing it various parts of Africa and Asia.
Our total population exactly is unknown but several 100s of us are currently living in various wildlife sanctuaries and I and my friends are in front of you.
