Ostrich STRUTHIONIDAE

1 species (the sole member of the family)

OSTRICH Struthio camelus

Height to crown: male 210–275 cm,
female 175–190 cm.

IDENTIFICATION 

Unmistakable. Enormous flightless bird with long, thin and almost bare neck, relatively tiny and almost bare head, barrel-like body and long, powerful legs. Only two toes. Often gregarious. Wary. Typically walks sedately but can run very rapidly if pressed. Feeds mainly on seeds, roots and leaves; also flowers, insects and lizards. Nests on ground.

SEX/AGE

Sexes distinct. Adult male has bright red head/neck in breeding season. Post-breeding moult complete, probably taking place in spring/early summer. Juvenile resembles adult female, but tail and primaries concolorous with body, neck downier. Complete post-juvenile moult takes place at an age of 9–11 months.

VOICE 

Often silent, but has wide range of calls, including hissing, snorting and booming sounds. Loud territorial booming (‘boo-boo-booh-hoo’) of males carries long distances.

STATUS/HABITAT 

Nomadic and extremely rare. (Exterminated from most of former range in N Africa and Middle East, which extended from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara to Kuwait. Recently rediscovered extreme SE Egypt. May still survive Western Sahara, southernmost Morocco.) Open, rolling or partly broken semi-desert with sparse vegetation, especially broad wadi beds.