| Habitat and Range | Description | Food | Breeding | Sounds | More Images | Recent Literature |
Ostrich
Order:
Struthioniformes
Family: Struthionidae
1 species
Africa;
largest extant bird (up to 150 kg; 2.5 m tall); flightless but fast runners (up to 50 km/hr); remiges and rectrices reduced to ornamental function; feathers sparse on head, neck; thighs bare; bill short, flat; 2 toes; birds of open country;
mostly vegetarian;
male larger (black w/white primaries and rectrices, bare skin, bright red or blue-gray in breeding season); polygamous; eggs of harem incubated by male and "major" female; clutch size ~ 10 eggs/female; ~ 30-40 eggs/nest; young nidifugous; sexual maturity at 3-4 years