Ostrich

The Ostrich is the largest living bird, with males standing over 2 meters tall and weighing well over 100 kg. It has a long bare neck, powerful long legs, and a small flattened head. Males are mostly black with striking white wing and tail plumes, while females and juveniles are duller grayish-brown, providing camouflage on the open plains.

Completely flightless, the Ostrich has instead evolved into the fastest running bird on Earth, using its long muscular legs to escape predators.

Key Field Marks

• Enormous size, towering above other savanna wildlife
• Long bare pink or bluish neck and legs
• Two-toed feet, unique among birds
• Males: glossy black body with white wing and tail plumes
• Females: uniform grayish-brown plumage

Similar Species

• No other bird approaches its size or shape within its range; unmistakable when seen
• The related Emu and Rhea are found on different continents (Australia and South America respectively) and never overlap in range

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa, from arid Sahel grasslands south through East and Southern Africa; formerly also parts of the Middle East and North Africa where now largely extirpated.

Habitat

Open, dry savanna, scrubland, and semi-desert with sparse vegetation offering long sightlines to spot approaching predators.

Migration

Non-migratory but nomadic within large home ranges, moving in response to rainfall and food availability.

Behavior

Highly social outside breeding season, forming loose flocks that often associate with grazing mammals like zebra and antelope, benefiting from shared vigilance against predators. Can sprint at speeds up to 70 km/h (43 mph) when threatened.

Voice

Males produce a deep, resonant booming roar during the breeding season; both sexes hiss when threatened.

Feeding

Primarily grazes on grasses, seeds, and low vegetation, swallowing small stones to help grind food in its gizzard; opportunistically eats insects and small vertebrates.

Nesting & Breeding

Polygynous mating system where a dominant male and "major" hen share a communal ground nest scrape with eggs from multiple females; the male and major hen alternate incubation duties over the eggs, the largest of any bird.