Скачать или смотреть Common Ostrich [Struthio Camelus]

You can read more about Common Ostrich here - https://avibirds.com/common-ostrich/

In this video, we learn about the common ostrich.

Quick facts:

• Lifespan: 40 – 45 years
• Average size: 2.25 m (7.4 ft)
• Average weight: 104 kg (229 lb)
• Family: Struthionidae
• Subspecies:
North African
South African
Masai
Arabian (extinct)

You can learn more about Common Ostrich - https://avibirds.com/common-ostrich/

Description:

Ostriches are the largest extant bird species. They have long, powerful legs, large bodies, and long necks with small heads and large eyes. Their nearly featherless necks and heads are covered in a fine layer of down.

Males are mostly black, while females are brownish-grey. Juveniles are light brown with dark brown spots.

Vocalisations:

They make a variety of sounds including whistling, hissing, low growling, and deep booming calls that from a distance may be confused with a lions roar.

Behaviour:

Common ostriches are predominantly diurnal. They are usually found in pairs or alone, except during the breeding season when they form nomadic flocks and travel with other grazing animals.

Fun fact:

Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. But when lying down, they lay their heads on the ground, giving them a mound-like appearance from a distance to conceal themselves from predators.

Distribution and habitat:

The common ostrich is native to Africa. They inhabit open areas within the savannah. They are also found in the desert and semi-desert regions of southwest Africa.

Ostriches are farmed for their meat, eggs, and feathers in many parts of the world. Feral populations have established in Australia.

Diet:

Ostriches mainly feed on plant materials such as grasses, berries, flowers, shrubs, and seeds. But they occasionally eat insects and small reptiles. Ostriches do not have teeth. Instead of chewing, they swallow small stones which grind up their food in the gizzard.

Common ostriches can survive for days without drinking water. In some areas, they rely on succulent vegetation until they find a freshwater source.

Reproduction:

During the breeding season, ostriches form harems consisting of one male and up to seven females. Male ostriches defend their territories, which can span up to 20 square kilometres.

Following some unique courtship rituals, the male may mate with several females in the harem but forms a pair bond with a dominant female. The females lay their eggs in a large communal nest. The dominant female may pick out the eggs of other females.

Only about 20 eggs are incubated. The females incubate the eggs during the day and the male at night. The incubation of ostrich eggs lasts up to 45 days. The male and females raise young cooperatively.

Predators:

Ostriches have many formidable predators, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and African wild dogs. Their eggs and nestlings are vulnerable to raptors, jackals, and other small mammals.

Ostriches have excellent hearing and vision and can detect predators from a distance. They are also the fasted bipedal animal in the world. They are known to reach speeds of over 70 km when being chased.

They can also deliver powerful, fatal blows with their legs.

In Society:

The ostrich has inspired civilisations for thousands of years. They were revered in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Their eggs were used as water vessels by hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari.

Ostrich eggshells were also used to make jewellery. In South Africa, remnants of engraved eggshells suggest that they played a role in society since 60,000 BP.

Till today, ostrich eggs and feathers are used ornamentally, and the feathers are used to make feather dusters.

Conservation:

Wild Common ostriches previously inhabited much of Africa, Asia, and Arabia. They are now only found in Africa, over a fraction of their former range. Their population numbers have dropped drastically over the last two centuries.

However, they have a large range on an overall species level and are thus listed as least concern according to the IUCN. The North African subspecies, however, are critically endangered, and the Arabian ostrich is extinct.

You can read more about Common Ostrich here - https://avibirds.com/common-ostrich/

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