Ostrich

Large individuals of the common ostrich can reach a height of 2.7 meters and weigh up to 156 kg. The average weight of an ostrich is about 50 kg.
The African ostrich can go a long time without water, as it obtains it from the green mass of plants. Like camels, it can calmly fast for several days.
An adult African ostrich can seriously injure or kill a lion with a kick from its foot, armed with a hard claw.
In case of danger, the common ostrich can run at a speed of up to 60–70 km/h, taking steps 3.5–4 m long.
The male African ostrich digs a nest in the sand up to 30–60 cm deep, into which all the females of the harem periodically lay eggs, performing this action every two days.
African ostriches can live up to about 75 years under favorable conditions.
One hour before hatching, the ostrich chick starts pecking the egg with its beak, pushes its feet against the ends of the egg, and then repeatedly strikes the egg with its head at one point to emerge.
In populations where there are too many females, the number of eggs in a clutch may be so high that the male physically cannot cover all the offspring with his body.

Age

Common ostriches typically live from 30 to 50 years, with a maximum lifespan of 50 years and a theoretical lifespan ranging from 35 years and 10 months to 51 years and 1 month. The species reaches sexual maturity from 1 year and 11 months to 4 years of age; the eyes of a chick open at birth. The embryo develops inside a large egg for six weeks, after which the chick hatches. The young, covered in down, immediately stands and follows its parents for a period of 1 to 2 years. Following this, the species enters the adult stage, which lasts from 2 to 60 years. Male African ostriches are black with white wings, while females are grey-brown.

Phenotype

Downy soft brown feathers cover the body of the young ostrich, which possesses long legs enabling rapid running just days after birth. Adult ostriches have large eyes, each eye being the size of the bird's brain, and possess very strong legs with two toes on each foot, one of which has a large claw, allowing them to reach speeds of 70 kilometers per hour. The species also exhibits a long neck that aids in surveying the surrounding area from a height and reaching leaves on bushes, along with black feathers on the body and white feathers on the wings and tail, utilized during courtship dances. Adult African ostriches have small wings that are not used for flight but help maintain balance while running and dancing.

Physiology

The body length of African ostriches ranges from 1.9 to 2.8 meters, and their mass varies from 117.92 to 120.62 kilograms; the species exhibits different sizes at various developmental stages, with the embryo having a body mass between 1.1 and 1.6 kilograms and a body length of 15 to 20 centimeters. The chick stage presents individuals with a body mass ranging from 0.8 to 45 kilograms and a body length from 30 centimeters to 1.8 meters; adult ostriches have a body mass between 100 and 156 kilograms, and a body length from 2.1 to 2.8 meters.

Habitat

Common ostriches inhabit landscapes including deserts and semi-deserts, terrestrial meadows and steppes, and terrestrial grassy areas; the species’ elevation range extends up to 2 kilometers above sea level. They are found in biomes such as deserts and dry scrublands characterized by intense heat and dryness with infrequent rainfall and cacti, and tropical savannas that are hot with uneven rainfall and abundant grasses and trees. The climate varies from very hot and nearly dry, where rainfall is scarce, to hot steppes with very hot, dry summers and plentiful grass, and very hot and dry conditions with daytime heat and nighttime cold and almost no rain. Winter brings little precipitation, while summer experiences more rainfall.

Shelter

Common ostriches are found on open ground among grass. The species uses nests, which are nest structures built or utilized for laying eggs and raising young. Nests are a form of shelter.

Geography

Common ostriches inhabit the Afrotropical and Palearctic biogeographical realms and are found in several ecosystems, including Somalian acacia-commiphora scrublands and woodlands, southern acacia-commiphora thickets, xerophytic scrublands of the African Horn, West Congo forest-savanna, Limpopo lowveld, and the Kalahari xerophytic savanna.

Feeding

The African ostrich primarily consumes plants, but also preys on insects and small animals; its diet includes grass, leaves, seeds, flowers, insects, lizards, small mammals, nectar, coniferous cones, and plant matter. The species obtains food through active hunting and foraging, using its beak to peck at plants and catch small prey. It swallows food whole and ingests small stones that aid in grinding the food within its stomach. The daily food requirement ranges from 1.5 kilograms to 3.5 kilograms. The species’ prey includes beetles, butterflies, flies, true bugs, dragonflies, mayflies, lacewings, amphipods, ribbon worms, and scale insects.

Reproduction

The development of the embryo takes 4 weeks; a litter consists of 8 to 60 young, and the species reaches maturity from 2 to 4 years of age. The male attracts females with loud sounds and courtship dances, and several females usually gather around one male. These females lay eggs in a single common pit on the ground, and the male and the dominant female alternate guarding the eggs and the young. The interval between reproduction is from 1 to 2 years, and offspring numbers range from 8 to 15.