Description of the African ostrich: appearance and lifestyle

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Why do you think emus are being seen more and more often on farms? It's easy to guess if you know how much an ostrich weighs. The maximum weight of poultry reaches 250 kilograms. However, depending on the variety, the weight can vary significantly. To know which bird is most profitable to raise, let's find out which ostrich is the largest.

Ostriches are strange birds that came to us from the mysterious African continent, from Australia and from the Middle East. It is logical that the names of the subspecies reflect their place of residence.

The largest bird on the planet is the ostrich

Description of the African ostrich

The African ostrich is an unusually large bird that cannot fly and has no keel. The only species of ostrich that has survived to this day.

Origin

Scientists have found that the most ancient ancestor of these birds lived in South Africa about 23 million years ago. It was medium in size (smaller than now) and primitive. About 15 million years ago, some of the ostriches entered Turkey, and from there they spread throughout inner Asia.

Further evolution of these birds took place in Eurasia during the late Miocene. The climatic conditions were as follows: cooling, drying out of the territory. But savannas spread over the spacious fields, where these ostriches lived in a rather underdeveloped and primitive form for a long time.

Appearance

The African ostrich is the largest of all bird species currently known to scientists. Let's take a closer look at every detail of his appearance:

• Head. Quite small, flattened. The eyes are large, bright, usually with long thick eyelashes located on the upper eyelid, but none on the lower eyelid. Vision is very good. The hearing aid is clearly visible due to the weak feathering in the head area; the auricles resemble small human ears.
• Wings. Underdeveloped, they have fingers with claws. The plumage is evenly distributed throughout the body and is dense on the wings. Typically, males have black plumage, and females, which are noticeably smaller, are not so brightly colored - gray, off-white.
• Limbs. The feet of the African ostrich are completely without feathers, as is the chest. Strong, long limbs have 2 fingers, one of which has a kind of hoof. Their legs are so powerful that with one blow an ostrich can cause serious damage and even kill any large predator.
• Height and weight. These are the largest and heaviest birds in the world. Their height reaches 2.5 meters, and their weight is approximately 120 kg for the female and 150 kg for the male.

The ostrich has an incredibly long neck that stretches well, allowing it to swallow large prey whole.

Lifestyle and behavior

Ostriches can behave aggressively towards humans if they attack their territory. These cases are a rare occurrence, but nevertheless, this characterizes them as freedom-loving and wayward birds.

They prefer to lead a herd lifestyle. They can live in family groups, which consist of a male, several females and their offspring. The flock numbers up to 30 individuals, and young ostriches in the south live in a group of hundreds of birds.

African ostriches can often be around other herbivores, live together and be very friendly. Due to their tall stature and excellent vision, they can report danger to all animals nearby.

Hibernation

African ostriches are able to withstand winter well in the central zone of the CIS countries, which is due to their very lush plumage and genetically excellent health.

When kept in captivity, specially adapted warm poultry houses are built for such birds. Individuals born in winter are much stronger and more resilient in health than birds born and raised in summer.

Emperor penguin

It is the largest penguin on Earth and the 6th largest flightless bird in the world. Found only in Antarctica. Height – 120 cm and weight – 40 kg. Emperor penguins are massive birds. But the descendants cannot compare with their distant ancestors - megapenguins, whose remains were discovered on the Antarctic Peninsula. The giants lived 37 million years ago. They weighed 115 kg and reached a height of 2 m.

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It's funny that scientists managed to calculate how many emperor penguins live on the planet - 595 thousand. The birds were counted according to satellite imagery in 2012 by British scientists. It was possible to record even those colonies that had previously eluded observers.

Emperor penguins are adapted to survive in harsh conditions: temperatures down to -50 ° C and wind speeds up to 200 km/h. Birds have 2 layers of feathers, a reserve of subcutaneous fat, a reduced size of the beak and flippers to reduce heat loss.

Subspecies

To date, only 4 subspecies have survived that live in Africa. There used to be more of them, but due to the extermination of birds, their population has greatly decreased. Let's consider each subspecies separately:

• Common ostrich. The largest species. It has a bald spot on its head, and its paws and neck are colored pinkish-red. The female has whitish-pink skin instead of red. The egg of the common ostrich has star-shaped pores.

• Masai ostrich. Lives in East Africa. During the breeding season, its skin becomes bright red, the rest of the time it has a pinkish tint. Females have brownish-gray plumage and whitish limbs.

• Somali ostrich. Some scientists and researchers classify it as a separate species due to reproductive isolation revealed by DNA analysis. Female Somali ostriches are always larger than males. Their weight reaches 150 kg and their height is about 2.5 meters. The skin color of males is bluish-gray, while females have bright brown feathers.

• Southern ostrich. They are dirty gray and light black in color. The habitat is extensive: Namibia, Zambia, Angola.

Rating

Fossil evidence indicates that birds evolved from ornithischian dinosaurs. The descendants of ancient lizards are distinguished by the presence of feathers, a toothless beak and a strong but light skeleton. Those birds that have given up flight are taller and more massive than their relatives.

The top 10 largest and flightless birds included:

• king penguin - 13.6 kg;
• small rhea – 19.6 kg;
• dwarf cassowary – 19.7 kg;
• American Rhea – 23 kg;
• emperor penguin - 31.5 kg;
• emu – 33 kg;
• northern cassowary – 44 kg;
• southern cassowary – 45 kg;
• Somali ostrich – 90 kg;
• common ostrich – 104 kg.

The list of the largest flying birds includes:

• great bustard - 10.6 kg;
• Andean condor – 11.3 kg;
• cory bustard – 11.4 kg;
• whooper swan – 11.4 kg;
• Dalmatian pelican – 11.5 kg;
• wandering albatross - 11.9 kg;
• mute swan – 11.87 kg;
• trumpeter swan – 12.7 kg;
• domestic turkey – 13.5 kg.

Natural habitats

Depending on the subspecies, the place of residence of the African ostrich varies. Most often, birds try to find the following natural conditions for life:

• Savannah. Ostriches, due to their natural characteristics and the need to quickly move, prefer grassy savannas and places with few trees. The plain is an excellent place for procreation and nutrition. On flat lands, you can clearly see all the animals nearby, including predators. Therefore, in case of danger, ostriches can flee in advance.
• Semi-desert. Groups of African ostriches can be found there while hatching eggs. However, they do not live in the Sahara Desert. Because it is difficult for birds to run on this kind of sand, which is necessary for them. The best option for life would be a semi-desert with hard soil and small bushes.

There are areas that ostriches try to avoid - these are mainly swampy areas, high impenetrable thickets of grass and trees, deserts with shifting sands.

Turkey

In the early 1500s, European explorers brought home wild turkeys from Mexico, where the birds had been domesticated 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. Therefore, wild and domestic are the same species, but domestic ones have increased in size due to selection. The weight of a wild bird is up to 13 kg. Modern domestic turkeys can be fattened up to 30 kg, but turkeys are usually raised at 10-15 kg weight.

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Unlike ostriches, wild turkeys can take off and fly at speeds of 80 km/h, but prefer to run. Although the bird's running speed is only 40 km/h. Consequently, the largest non-predatory flying bird is the turkey.

Natural enemies

Ostriches have many different enemies in nature. Let's take a closer look at how serious and frequent the danger they pose:

• Predators. These are hyenas, jackals and birds that attack and destroy their nests with defenseless chicks. That is why during the period of incubation and growth of chicks, the population of African ostriches suffers enormous damage. But the offspring can run away from danger as early as 30 days after birth. Adults are attacked only by large predators: lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs. But ostriches have effective methods of defense, so predatory animals attack with caution.
• Poachers. They are the ones who bear the most irreparable damage to the population. Hunters kill entire herds, about 30-80 individuals. They illegally sell skin, feathers, meat, and eggs of ostriches. There is currently only one method of combating poachers - breeding individuals on a farm in order to receive all the benefits from specially raised livestock, and not from killing all the birds.
• Tourists. For them it is just entertainment, so they enjoy hunting birds from helicopters. It is difficult to fight them and the authorities have banned the export of any type of ostrich products from the country.

Humans pose the greatest threat to African ostriches. Despite the camouflage, high speed, strong limbs and density of eggs, people have found a way to exterminate individuals for their own benefit.

Condor

The largest bird of prey is the Andean condor. Wingspan – 3.25 m. Weight – up to 12 kg. Length – 117-135 cm. Diet – mainly meat. Appearance: Black plumage with a white collar around the neck. There is no feathering on the head and long neck. The color of the scalp is reddish.

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It is believed that the condor partially lost its feather cover in order to keep its head clean during lunch (the condor is a scavenger), making it easier to care for its feathers.

African ostrich nutrition

Ostriches have a varied diet. They can eat grass, branches, roots, plants and flowers. But they will not refuse small rodents, leftover food from predators, and insects.

Since birds do not have teeth, they swallow small stones so that the food is better crushed in the stomach.

These birds can remain without water for a long time, and they obtain moisture from plants. However, when they find a body of water, they use its capabilities and not only drink, but also swim.

Rhea

There are 2 types of rheas living on Earth: large and small. Birds ranked 9th and 7th on the list of largest but non-flying birds. Height – 127-140 cm. Weight – 22-23 kg. Diet: seeds, fruits, fish, rodents, insects. Characteristic appearance: strong long legs, brownish-gray plumage, ostrich-like body, small head. Wide wings help the rhea maintain balance while running in the pampas. The inhabitant of South America is distantly related to ostriches and emus.

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The giant has sharp claws at the ends of its wings, with which the bird is capable of disemboweling a person. Fortunately, when faced with a predator, Rhea prefers to flee, in which it succeeds, reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h.

Reproduction and lifespan

Before laying eggs, the male digs a hole himself. The main female of the flock incubates all the eggs for about 40 days. She does this all day long, leaving only to eat and chase small rodents. At night the male sits on the eggs.

One female can lay up to 10 eggs. The ostrich egg is the largest in the world. Its weight is 1.5-2 kg, and it is about 15 cm in length.

After 40 days, the chick hatches. This process takes about an hour. It breaks the shell with its beak and head. If some of the chicks from the offspring fail to emerge, the female herself pecks at the egg. Ostrich chicks weigh 1 kg, immediately begin to see, and have fluff. By day 30 they can already run quite fast.

The weight of ostriches becomes about 25 kg within six months after birth. After 2 years, males are covered with black feathers, before that they all look like females. Their development as a whole is characterized by a gradual and slow process. It takes a particularly long time for them to develop their plumage.

The maximum lifespan of an ostrich is about 80 years, but most of them live 35-40.

Australian emus

The height of the Australian flightless bird is 1 meter 50 centimeters, and the weight of the ostrich reaches 55 kg. Males have greater mass than females and can reach 100 kg. During egg laying, the male loses a third of his weight, because he is the one who incubates the chicks. The mother is getting food at this time.

Emus live in grassy and bushy areas and feed on pasture and insects. They enjoy eating cereal plants, so Australian authorities have decided to partially shoot ostriches if they cause harm to agriculture.

You can recognize an emu by its plumage, which contains all shades of brown. The head and neck have deeper dark colors, gradually becoming lighter at the bottom of the body. Emu has three toes on its feet, which are used for protection. The male and female look the same. You can distinguish them by raising the tail and pressing the cloaca. If the genital organ appears, it means there is a “boy” in front of you. Otherwise, you've looked under the lady's tail. However, not everyone will dare to take such peeks - an ostrich can easily kill a person with one kick. Thanks to their strong lower limbs, emus run at speeds of up to 51 km/h and are excellent swimmers.

Newborn chicks of the Australian flightless bird are very tiny - up to 400 g. The clutch includes up to 25 eggs, which means more than two dozen babies hatch at a time. The weight of one egg is 700 - 900 g, which corresponds to 10 - 12 chicken eggs in weight and volume.

The ostrich is an ancient animal. However, at some stage his mental development stalled. The tiny head contains an equally tiny brain. Ostriches are very shy and are afraid even of their own shadow, and as food they can easily feast on bottle caps or anything that fits in their beak.

Emu birds, weighing 160 kg

Domestication of the African ostrich

It is reliably known that attempts to domesticate the African ostrich occurred in the distant past in Ancient Egypt. However, only in the 19th century the first farm opened, which was located in America. After this, there were a lot of ostrich farms almost all over the world. Now they are bred in more than 50 countries around the world.

Birds are able to quickly adapt to harsh weather conditions, despite their African origin. It is not difficult for them to endure 30 degree frost, but sudden changes in temperature, drafts and wet snow have a particularly bad effect on birds, because of this they can get sick and even die.

Economic importance

The interesting external characteristics of the African ostrich almost led to the extinction of the species - the beautiful feathers of the males were used to make fans, plumes, fans, and hat decorations. This caused the mass extermination of birds and an imbalance between females and males.

Over time, people began to raise ostriches in captivity - they are bred for meat, skin, and eggs. Birds are no longer killed to collect feathers - the feathers are carefully trimmed near the skin. The procedure is repeated 1-2 times a year, starting from the age of two. Craftsmen use egg shells to make decorative dishes and even real works of art.

Is it possible to breed it?

The ostrich is a large and exotic bird, but hardy and omnivorous. In order for a bird to live comfortably on a farm, the following conditions must be met:

• there should be a spacious grassy area nearby on which various plants will grow;
• the presence of an insulated poultry house, since ostriches love warm climatic conditions, even despite their endurance;
• For one male you need to keep 3-4 females, this ensures their proper reproduction.

It is important to handle birds carefully and carefully, because they can behave very aggressively during mating periods, protecting their chicks and eggs.

You can learn about breeding African ostriches in the video:

Cassowary

Positions 3, 4 and 7 on the list are occupied by cassowaries, which have earned the title of the most dangerous to humans. In fact, in the wild, cassowaries do not attack people. But in zoos, if you tease a bird, conflicts can be fatal for the descendants of primates.

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On each three-toed foot of the cassowary, nature has created a dagger-like claw up to 10 cm long. With its help, the bird cuts the enemy with one blow. And if you need to run, then strong legs allow you to reach a speed of 50 km/h.

The southern cassowary, with bright blue plumage and red earrings, lives on the plains of northern Australia. The pygmy cassowary prefers mountains, while the northern variety prefers the plains and tropical forests of New Guinea. The weight of a cassowary is up to 60 kg. Height – up to 2 m.

Species protection

The ostrich needed radical and serious security measures. An organization that protects the Sahara decided to call on people to help save the population and return the ostrich to the wild. Today, the Sahara Fund has already achieved considerable success in protecting the African ostrich.

The company assisted in taking some important measures in the construction of nurseries and consulted with experts on the topic of poultry breeding in captivity. Great assistance was provided to one of the zoos in breeding ostriches.

A nursery has been created in an African village with all the necessary conditions for ostriches in the east. The support of the authorities helped bring a flock of birds to protected areas and release them into nature reserves to continue living in their natural habitat, in freedom.

Thanks to the measures taken to protect the bird, it is possible to avoid the rapid development of poaching and preserve the population.

The ostrich is a unique bird of its kind. It has a long history, is well suited for farming and does not require special living conditions. Many farmers are happy with the decision to start breeding ostriches, as they receive quite a lot of benefits from them.

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Extinct ancestors

Dromornis stirtoni is one of the largest birds, whose thunderous steps shook the soil. The growth of Dromornis reached 3 meters. Weight – 0.5 tons. Dromornis was heavier than the extinct giant moa from New Zealand and taller than the also extinct elephant bird from Madagascar.

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Dromornis stirtoni
The diet of Dromornis stirtoni is a subject of intense debate. Some scientists claim that the bird ate fruits and seeds. Others believe that it was omnivorous. Eggshell analysis supports plant-based diet advocates. As for relatives, it was first believed that Dromornis were related to ostriches and emus. But new research shows that the giant shares a common ancestor with geese and ducks.

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Giant Moa
The giant moa is a skyscraper among birds. Height – 3.6 m. Weight – 250 kg. Distribution area: New Zealand. Diet – plant based. Moa is the tallest extinct bird.

No. 9 Darwin's Nandu

Weight: up to 28.6 kg
An alternative name for this bird is Rhea, its height is 90-100 centimeters, and its length is also up to 100 cm. As for body weight, its average mark, in turn, is 28-29 kilograms on average. Favorite habitats are on the plateau in the Andes, and it can also be found in different places of the South American continent.

No. 12 Bustard

Weight: up to 18 kg.
This representative of the bird world can weigh up to 18 kilograms and is widespread throughout Asia and Europe, although the majority of the population is still found in Spain and Portugal. Probably, birds of this type are considered the heaviest. The height of males is up to 105 cm, although the minimum mark starts from 90 cm. As for the length, this figure is 115 mm, and the wingspan can reach 2.1-2.7 m. An adult male can have a body weight of up to 18 kilograms , while females can weigh half as much. There is another representative of this species, the African bustard. Judging by the name, it is easy to guess that it comes from Africa. The male has a length of 120-150 cm, and his height is up to 120 cm. As for the wingspan, it can be 2.75 m. As is the case with the common bustard, the masses of females and males vary almost twice.