Beak of the Week: Common Ostrich

Whether you gathered with friends and family around your seder plate or celebrated Easter Sunday with your loved ones, the egg was most likely a part of your traditional holiday weekend.  Here, learn about a very large egg, and the huge bird who is responsible for laying it—the Ostrich!

A recently hatched Ostrich – too cute!

Common Name: Common Ostrich

Latin Name: Struthio camelus

Male Common Ostrich, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Range: Originally Africa. Introduced to southern Australia.

Habitat: Open, arid plains.

Female Common Ostrich with her eggs, Addo National Park, South Africa

Diet: Mostly plants, leaves, and seeds. Occasionally consumes small animals.

Conservation Status: Least Concern. However, there has been a decrease in range and population numbers.

 

The outstanding ostrich…

  • Is largest, tallest and heaviest of all bird species.
  • Has the largest eyes of any land animal—each one is bigger than the size of its brain!
  • Is the only bird to have two toes per foot.
  • Will occasionally eat small stones and pebbles to aid digestion.
  • Cannot fly, but is the largest bipedal runner in the world. It can reach speeds of approximately 40 mph.

Think Easter eggs are bright and colorful? Check out how some artists decorate ostrich eggs!

Cynosure of All Eyes by Farha Sayeed
By Hungarian Artist, Csuhaj Tunde
Painted Ostrich eggs at Easter by Jeremy Taylor
Painted Ostrich Egg by Katya Trischuk Mangov
We Have All The Time In The World, Rupert Shrive, 2008
Original pen and ink drawing by Ann Ranlett
Brahms Concerto: Violin, Cello and Orchestra by Carina Charlton

 

Happy Holidays and Happy Birding!!!

Danielle & Michelle

This entry was posted in Beak of the Week, Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.