Ostriches:

A myth that began long ago in ancient Rome fueled the idea that ostriches bury their heads in the sand. Several reasons for this include the size of their heads in relation to the rest of their body. When they are low to the ground, searching for food to eat, the perspective of distance causes it to look as if their heads were buried. They also use their heads to dig out rudimentary nests, and finally, when threatened, an ostrich will lower their head to the ground to reduce its size as a target, but in all these instances, their head stays above the sand.

 

The ostrich may be a flightless bird, but it certainly outweighs countless other aves class traits. Literally, weighing up to 345 pounds
the ostrich is the largest bird on the planet—and stands between 6.9 feet and 9.2 feet tall! Ostriches are also the fastest bird in the world, traveling at a consistent speed of 30 to 37 mph, but can reach bursts close to 45 miles an hour!

 

The strong legs of the ostrich are supported by two toes on each foot that end in a sharp claw. This claw not only serves the purpose of defense, but also helps prevent slipping and allows traction when pushing off in sandy environments. Each toe has a different purpose—the large toe carries the majority of the ostrich’s weight, and the smaller toe is used to maintain balance. Ostriches' powerful legs are not only good for rapid travel across land, even covering 10 to 16 feet in a single stride, but they can also defend themselves as they deliver a kick with the force of a kangaroo, The power behind that kick could kill a lion or a man from the sheer force.

 

Ostriches live in flocks ranging from 10-100 birds, usually in grasslands and the shrub lands of southern and eastern Africa. They are quite adapted to living in the desert and can go up to two weeks without water because of all the plant matter they eat. Ostriches can live up to 100 years, but the average lifespan is 30 to 40 years. 

 

As far as the ostrich diet, they are omnivorous munching on whatever happens to be in their habitat at the time. At the top of the list are plants, especially the roots, leaves, and seeds. Because they uproot and swallow some of the plants they eat whole, they swallow pebbles, and sand in order to break up these tough foods. And they are equipped with three stomachs in order to metabolize all of this tough plant matter. To round out the vegetation portion of their diet, they also eat insects, snakes, lizards, and other rodents.

 

Ostriches eyes are the largest eyes of the entire animal kingdom measuring 2 inches in diameter -- that's five times the size of a human eye. One ostrich eye actually exceeds the size of its brain. This is the same size as the smallest bird in the world, the bee hummingbird. Ostriches keen vision allows them to see 2.2 miles away, spotting predators, as well as foraging for food. 

 

It is actually up to the male ostrich to get the female's attention. With a very ritualized and synchronized dance, a male ostrich will attract a female with his dance. He begins with a bow, and then a wave and shake of the feathers of one wing, and then the other, while moving his tail up and down at the same time. If the female is interested, they will mate. 

 

Ostriches have communal nests. The dominant hen lays her eggs with the territorial male first in the center of the nest, and subsequent females will lay their eggs around her eggs in the nest. The communal nest allows more eggs to hatch overall for the entire flock, but the outer eggs stand less of a chance of survival. Each ostrich lays 7 to 10 eggs, and the largest egg weighs 3 pounds, measuring 6 inches in length, and 5 inches across. Only the dinosaurs produced larger eggs. The 3mm thickness of the shell can actually withstand a human being standing on it. And if you were to eat an ostrich egg, you would be consuming at least 2000 calories. Both the male and the female incubate the nest, and turn the eggs several times during the day. Because the males are colored with black and white feathers, they take the night shift.

 

The ostrich farm opened in Florida for tourists in 1892, along with alligators!