#struthioniformes

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[2621/11080] Common ostrich - Struthio camelus

Order: Struthioniformes Family: Struthionidae (ostriches)

Photo credit: Jaap Velden via Macaulay Library

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Have you seen the common ostrich (Struthio camelus)?

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Remaining time: 2 days 17 hours

The first photo is a male with chicks, the second is a female.

[herpsandbirds]

Somali Ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes), Struthioniodae, order Struthioniformes, Kenya

Once considered a subspecies of the Common Ostrich, it was elevated to the status of species in 2014.

photograph by Ornis Birding Expeditions

[snototter]

A male common ostrich (Struthio camelus) feeding in the rain in Cape Peninsula National Park, South Africa

by Bernard Dupont

[best-bird-tournament]

Ostrich (Struthioniformes) order / Struthionidae family / genus Struthio

Which is the best bird?

Somali ostrich

Common ostrich

Voting ended onFeb 1

[saritawolf]

Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[life-on-our-planet]

Raising Ostrich Chicks BBC Earth

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Struthioniformes

(Sources - 1, 2)

Our first of many orders of birds and our first paleognath, the Struthioniformes, commonly called “ostriches” are only composed of one living family, Struthionidae, one living genus, Struthio, with two living species: the Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) (image 1) and the Somali Ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) (image 2).

Ostriches are the heaviest and largest living birds, and thus the largest living dinosaurs, with adult Common Ostriches weighing anywhere between 63.5 and 156.8 kilograms (140-346 lbs), with the larger males standing 2.1 - 2.75 m (6 ft 11 in - 9 ft) tall. They are flightless, instead relying on their strong legs to swiftly flee from danger. They are didactyl, having just two toes on each foot (most birds have four), with the nail on the larger, inner toe resembling a hoof. The outer toe has no nail. This adaptation appears to aid in running. Their wings are mainly used for display, and also contain two vestigial claws. Ostriches have primitive feathers, lacking the hooks that lock flight feathers together, which serve as insulation and give them a soft and fluffy appearance. They are omnivores, with a diet consisting mainly of plant matter, though they will also eat invertebrates and small reptiles. They are diurnal, but may be active on moonlit nights.

Ostriches are sexually dimorphic, with males having mostly black feathers, with white primaries and a white or buff tail (images 1 and 2). Females and young males are grayish-brown and white (see gif below). Ostriches normally spend the winter months in pairs or alone, but during breeding season and sometimes during extreme droughts they will form nomadic groups of 5 to 100 birds (led by a dominant female) that often travel together with other grazing animals, such as zebras or antelopes. With their acute eyesight and hearing, ostriches assist these mixed herds by keeping watch for predators. Their mating process differs in different geographical regions, and between species. Territorial males typically boom (by inflating their neck) in defense of their territory and harem of two to seven females. Males perform an elaborate mating dance with their wings, synchronizing behavior with the female, until the two dance together. A successful male may then mate with several females in the area, but will only form a pair bond with a dominant female. A communal nest is scraped in the ground by the male. The dominant female lays her eggs first; when it is time to cover them for incubation, she discards many of the extra eggs from the other females, leaving about 20 in most cases. The eggs are incubated by the females by day and by the males by night. The drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the night. The incubation period is 35 to 45 days. New chicks are fawn in color, with dark brown spots. They will be cared for by both their mother and father, with the father protecting the hatchlings and teaching them to feed. After three months the hatchlings start to gain their juvenile plumage, which is steadily replaced by adult-like plumage during their second year. They become sexually mature when they are 2 to 4 years old.

Struthioniformes was once a more diverse group, arriving in the Eocene around 40 million years ago, and were widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Modern ostriches, of the genus Struthio, would not appear in Africa until the early Miocene, around 21 million years ago.

Do you have a favorite in Struthioniformes?

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Voting ended onApr 7, 2025

Propaganda under the cut:

With the ability to run at 70 km/h (43.5 mph), and up to about 97 km/h (60 mph) in short bursts, ostriches are the fastest birds on land, and the second fastest land animals.

Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any living land animal (though they are the smallest eggs relative to the size of the bird).

Ostriches are the most dangerous birds on the planet for humans, with an average of two to three deaths being recorded each year in South Africa alone. (For comparison, cassowaries have only killed a total of two people in all of recorded history.) When threatened, ostriches can deliver slashing kicks with their powerful feet and long claws, with which they can disembowel or kill a person with a single blow. Ostrich attacks mainly happen when the bird is cornered or defending its offspring.

The extinct ostrich Pachystruthio dmanisensis, which lived from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Eurasia, was one of the largest birds of all time. P. dmanisensis has been estimated standing 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) tall and weighing up to 450 kg (990 lb).

Male ostriches have a conical-shaped penis which is wider at the base and typically around 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Follow for more Penis Facts™.

Common Ostriches can live up to 30-40 years in the wild, and up to 70 in human care.

The misconception that ostriches bury their heads in the sand may have begun with Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), who wrote that ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed." The idea that ostriches bury their heads in the sand may have come from a combination of this writing and a misunderstanding of the behavior of ostriches pecking at sand and pebbles to help digest their fibrous food, using their beak to rotate their eggs in a nest-hole, or the defensive behavior of ostriches which involves them lying low with their neck flat against the ground so as to appear like a bush.

From as early as 60,000 BP, Ostriches have been hunted by humans for their lean meat, strong leather, feathers, and oil, and their eggs may be harvested for food and to use their shells as bowls or lamps. By the 18th century ostriches were almost hunted to extinction, until farming of ostriches began in the 19th century. Today, most ostrich products come from farms. Ostrich populations have rebounded and the Common Ostrich is considered Least Concern while the Somali Ostrich is considered Vulnerable.