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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
ostrich |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Struthioniformes |
| FAMILY: |
Struthionidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Struthio
(ostrich) camelus (camel-like) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Largest
living bird |
| MALE |
Males
are jet black with white plumage and bright red
or blue skin |
| FEMALE |
Females
are fairly uniform in color, with earthy gray-brown
plumage and skin color |
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| SIZE: |
Approximate
height 2.75 m (9 ft.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Up
to 156.5 kg (345 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Bulk
of food is vegetation, fruit, seeds, leaves, shoots,
shrubs, succulent plants; also invertebrates, occasionally
lizards, and other small vertebrates. Stones are
ingested to aid in digestion |
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| INCUBATION: |
Approximately
40 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
3-4
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Approximately
40 years in managed situations, unknown in the wild |
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| RANGE: |
Common
in the wild in East Africa |
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| HABITAT: |
Open
country, desert areas, and dry savannah |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No data |
| CITES |
Specific
populations are protected |
| USFWS |
Arabian
and West African ostrich listed as Endangered |
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| 1. |
One
ostrich egg equals up to 24 chicken eggs. And it
takes approximately 2 hours to boil! |
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| 2. |
Ostriches
can run up to 70 km/hr (40 mph) and can outpace
most pursuers, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas. |
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| 3. |
It
is the largest and heaviest living bird. It is unable
to fly and does not possess a keeled sternum (breastbone)
common to most birds. |
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| 4. |
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. |
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| 5. |
Ostriches
are so powerful that a single kick at a predator,
such as a lion, could be fatal. |
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| 6. |
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. |
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| Humans
have had a close relationship with ostrich for thousands
of years. Ancient Egyptians farmed ostrich and present
day farming, which began in 1833, is run much the
same way. Ostrich feathers have been used for adornment
by humans for at least 5000 years and the eggs are
still used by Bushmen as jewelry and receptacles
for carrying water. 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 4 subspecies of ostrich require strict protection
and farming has helped to conserve the wild populations. |
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|
| Bertram,
R.C.B. The Ostrich Communal Nesting System.
New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1992. |
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| Grzimek,
H.C. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Vol.
7. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1992. |
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Perrins,
C.M. (ed.) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of the
World. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990.
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