ostrich
Contrary to popular belief, ostriches never bury their heads in the sand. In fact, when threatened, the large, flightless birds invariably rely on the exact opposite strategy, which is to escape the approaching danger with the help of their long legs. The honor of "the world's largest bird" belongs to the ostrich.
Ostriches are widely distributed in flat, open areas of Africa with little rainfall. There are 4 distinct subspecies: the North African ostrich, pink-necked, which inhabits the southern Sahara; Somali ostrich, blue-necked, inhabits the "Horn of Africa" (North-East Africa); The Maasai ostrich, adjacent to the former, with a pink neck, lives in East Africa; The South African ostrich, blue-necked, inhabits the south of the Zambezi River. The Arabian ostrich has been extinct since the middle of the 20th century.
Through evolution, ostriches have come to power with a proven warning system: a long, flexible neck and large, sharp eyes. This allows them to detect imminent dangers in time and to act quickly to flee.
Tall and flight-less
Form and function
Ostriches have soft feathers and no feathers. The male's jet-black, shiny body feathers contrast with the long white "flying" feathers (primary "flying" feathers) on either side, which makes it stand out so that it can be seen at great distances during the day. Females and juveniles are brown or grayish brown, and this color is very concealed. Newly hatched chicks are pale yellowish brown with dark brown spots and a small pinch of bristles on their backs, resembling hedgehogs. Ostriches have long necks and are extremely flexible. The head is small, and the unspecified beak can be opened wide. The eyes are very large and the vision is sharp. The legs are bare, slender and strong. Only two toes on each foot. The kick in front of the foot is powerful, the running speed can reach 50 km / h, and it is a tireless bird. Because of their large stride, long neck and accurate pecking, ostriches are able to find the sparsely distributed quality food in their habitat very efficiently. They eat a variety of nutritious buds, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds, and this foraging is more like herbivorous ungulates than birds. After multiple feedings, the ostrich stuffs the food with the esophagus, so it slowly slides along the neck like a large ball (i.e., "food mass"), and because the food ball is nearly 200 ml, the neck skin will tighten during the slide. Ostrich sand sacs can hold at least 1300 grams of food, 45% of which may be sand or gravel to help grind difficult-to-digest substances. Ostriches usually feed in small flocks, when they are very vulnerable to attack, so they will occasionally look up to scan whether there are predators, the main predators are lions, and occasionally jaguars and cheetahs.
A flock of ostriches sped through the almost silvery white salt marshes of Etosha in Namibia. For ostriches, the ability to run fast is crucial to survive on a continent where agile predators are everywhere.
Babysitting "someone else's child"
Reproductive Biology
The breeding season of ostriches varies from region to region, and in East Africa, they breed mainly during the dry season. The male ostrich digs several shallow pits in its territory (its field area varies from 2 square kilometers to 20 square kilometers, depending on the food abundance of the region), and the female ostrich (the "main" female bird) maintains a loose mate relationship with the male ostrich and occupies a home of up to 26 square kilometers, and the female ostrich chooses one of the pits and lays up to 12 eggs thereafter, one the next day. There will be 6 or more female ostriches ("sub"females") laying eggs in the same nest, but leaving after laying their eggs. These sub-mothers may also lay eggs in other nests within the field. In the days that followed, the master and male shared the task of watching the nest and incubating the eggs, the female was responsible for the daytime, the breeding period of the male ostrich varied from region to region, and in East Africa, they mainly bred during the dry season. The male ostrich digs several shallow pits in its territory (its field area varies from 2 square kilometers to 20 square kilometers, depending on the food abundance of the region), and the female ostrich (the "main" female bird) maintains a loose mate relationship with the male ostrich and occupies a home of up to 26 square kilometers, and the female ostrich chooses one of the pits and lays up to 12 eggs thereafter, one the next day.
There will be 6 or more female ostriches ("sub"females") laying eggs in the same nest, but leaving after laying their eggs. These sub-mothers may also lay eggs in other nests within the field. In the days that followed, the master mother and male shared the task of watching the nest and incubating the eggs, with the female responsible for the day and the male responsible for the night. Unguarded nests are visible from the air, so they are vulnerable to white vultures, which throw stones to smash these huge ostrich eggs with egg shells up to 2 mm thick. And even a guarded nest is threatened by coyotes and jackals. As a result, the rate of loss of nests is very high: less than 10% of nests will survive after about 3 weeks of spawning and 6 weeks of incubation. Ostrich chicks are well developed (i.e., early-stage) at birth. Both the female and the male accompany the chicks, protecting them from a variety of birds of prey and ground predators. Chicks from several different nests usually form a large group, escorted by one or two adult birds. Only about 15% of chicks survive to be over 1 year old, i.e. fully developed. Females can reproduce as young as 2 years old. Males begin to grow plumage at the age of 2 and can reproduce at the age of 3 to 4. Ostriches can live to be over 40 years old.
Protection and the environment
Ostrich feathers have long been used as ornaments. In ancient Egypt, symmetrically placed ostrich feathers were a symbol of justice, while the ostrich brain was seen as a delicacy. Today in Africa, ostrich eggshell fragments are still used for decoration of necklaces and belts; And in some places, intact eggshells are believed to have some kind of magical power to protect houses and churches from lightning strikes. In contrast, a more secular practice, like the Koykoys of southwestern Africa, treats empty eggshells as vessels for water.
The dense presence of carnivores and the frequent hunting activities of humans make ostrich nests difficult to guard. It was the irresponsible hunting of humans that led to the extinction of the Arabian ostrich, which once existed in large numbers. Ostrich populations are decreasing as humans increasingly intervene in their habitats, although they are not yet a serious threat to this species. In addition, there are many ostriches living on farms. They are raised to get their feathers and flesh, and the soft ostrich skin is perfect for making high-quality leather.
Knowledge archives
ostrich
Order Ostrich
Family Ostrichidae
There are four subspecies: the Maasai ostrich, the North African ostrich, the Somali ostrich, and the South African ostrich.
Distribution in Africa (formerly the Arabian Peninsula).
Its habitat is semi-desert and savannah.
It is about 2.5 meters tall and weighs about 115 kilograms. The male is slightly larger than the female.
Body feathers The male has black body feathers with white primary flight feathers and tail feathers, of which one subspecies has pale yellow body feathers; Females have grey-brown body feathers. Neck and legs bare. Male skin can be cyan or pink depending on subspecies, while female skin is slightly pinkish light grey.
Loud hisses and muffled roars.
Nest Shallow pit on the ground.
The number of eggs in the follicle is 10 to 40; Glossy, milky white; Weighs 1.1 to 1.9 kg. The incubation period is 42 days.
Food Grass, seeds, fruits, leaves, flowers.
Conservation status Ostriches in Africa are currently unsurpassed. The Arabian ostrich became extinct due to hunting, and the last record was in 1966.