Ostrich African: description and interesting facts

The largest bird in the world is the African ostrich. And I must say that these birds grow really impressive size. An adult ostrich can appear to be up to 2.7 m, while weighing it will be approximately 156 kg. But not only the large size of the ostrich draws attention to him, but his manner of courting the lady, hatching, and then growing offspring and a host of other interesting features.

More details about ostriches and their habits we will tell in this article.

Where and how do African ostriches live

African ostrich lives on a hot continent in the savanna and semi-desert regions, on both sides of the equator. All his life the male remains faithful to one dominant female. But since he is, in spite of this, polygamy, his family usually includes several more representatives of the weaker sex, among whom he singles out his "lady of the heart". And the ostrich family marches through the savannah: a male, a dominant female, several females in rank and ostrich.

Often you can see how these beautiful birds graze along with zebra or antelope, making with them long transitions across the plains. Artiodactyls do not drive them, because those, due to their excellent vision and high growth, can view the moving predator at a great distance - up to 5 km.

In case of danger, issuing a warning sound, this huge bird rushes to the end (and the speed of the ostrich in case of danger reaches 70 km / h). Herd, warned by a bird, also rushes in all directions. So having such a watchful herbivore is very beneficial!

A little bit about the strength of the ostrich

Ostrich prefers not to meet with danger, but cowardly it can not be considered, because if a bird still has to face a lion or other attacker, in battle it shows itself as a brave warrior. Strong ostrich legs are an excellent weapon. One stroke of such a limb is enough to severely injure, or even kill a lion or break a thick trunk of a tree.

No, the ostrich does not hide its head in the sand. She simply prudently leaves the danger, and even then only in the out-of-spa period. And during the nesting or if you can not avoid a collision - meets all as a real warrior. The ostrich raspushivaet feathers and begins to move on the enemy, and if that is not fortunate enough to escape - it will be trampled! Probably, therefore, all predators try to avoid this bird, because they keep from the ostrich at a respectful distance.

Ostrich - flightless bird

An ostrich can not fly - it's a well-known fact. So ordered the nature. His musculature is poorly developed in the thoracic region, the wings are underdeveloped, and the ostrich feathers, curly and friable, do not form tightly closed rigid plates-puffers. Its skeleton is not pneumatic.

But this bird runs faster than a horse! Her long two-toed legs are perfectly adapted for walking for long distances and for running. At the age of one month the speed of the ostrich can reach 50 km / h. The running ostrich makes steps, each up to 4 m in length and, if necessary, can make a sharp turn, without reducing speed, and even spread out on the ground.

By the way, how many fingers the African ostrich has, it helps a lot in the process of walking. The fingers of the bird are flattened, provided with pads on the sole. In addition, there are only two, and they are very similar to the outwardly soft camel's hoof. No wonder the word "ostrich" is translated from Greek as "a sparrow-camel". The larger of the fingers of the bird is provided with something similar to the claw, and to the hoof - on it the bird rests on the run.

What an African ostrich looks like

What an African ostrich looks like, it's probably not a secret for anybody - it's a dense bird with a long, without feathers, neck, which is crowned by a flattened small head with large eyes and beak.

The beak is soft, adorned on the supraclusium with a keratinized growth. You can not ignore the huge eyes of the ostrich, with long eyelashes. Each of them, by the way, has a volume equal to the brain of this bird.

The male plumage is brighter than that of the females, which are decorated with gray-brown feathers with dirty-white tips on the tail and wings. And their cavaliers can boast of black "tailcoats" with bright white feathers on their wings and tail.

The different subspecies of the African ostrich differ mainly in the color of the neck, legs, size and some biological characteristics: the number of eggs in the nest, the presence or absence of litter there, and the structure of the egg shell.

How an ostrich creates a harem

During the mating period, the current African ostrich creates a harem. He spreads his wings, fluffs feathers and slowly sinks to his knees. Then he throws back his head and rubs it against his back - this "gypsy woman" does not leave indifferent females who allow themselves to be covered and become members of the same family.

True, in this harem there will be one "first lady" - the dominant female, which the ostrich chooses once and for all life. And the other females from the harem can change from time to time. "The First Lady", of course, does not forget to periodically show who is the boss, giving a swag to his companions.

In the family of ostriches, you can easily determine the rank of each. Ahead is the father of the family himself, followed by his "lady of the heart" with his head held high, and then, bowing his head, the other females and cubs go.

Speed of the ostrich is not its only feature

Lay eggs of ostrich in one nest, which will dig in the ground or sand the male. As a result, there are up to 30 of them, and in ostriches living in East Africa, up to 60. True, the dominant female cares about the fact that her eggs are located in the center of the masonry, and the rest - around. This is how the law of survival works at the expense of numbers.

The ostrich egg is the largest in the world (it is 24 times chicken), but if you compare it to the size of the hen, then it is the smallest! Such an incident!

Dominant ostrich is sitting on the masonry during the day. It serves for eggs as a kind of conditioner, not allowing them to cook at a 50-degree heat. And at night they are climbed by a male to save them from hypothermia.

How ostriches develop

Ostriches black African are born after 40 days strong, covered with brownish, protruding bristles in all directions, and the chicks weigh, as a rule, about 1.2 kg. They learn very quickly how and what can be eaten, and after a couple of months they change their fluff to the same feathers as their mother, but do not leave their family for another 2 years.

True, if in the savannah the paths of two families with ostriches intersect, then each of them will try to grab the kids themselves and attach them to their brood. Because of this, there are families where up to 300 young people of different ages are recruited.

A year later the ostrich is ready for independence, but for some time he will live with his brothers and sisters in one flock. Until his time comes to dance before the lady his amazing marriage dance.

The emu is not an ostrich!

Now let's move from Africa to Australia. On this continent and on the island of Tasmania there is a very similar bird of emu, similar to the African ostrich. Until the 1980s, she was considered a relative of ostriches. But then their classification was revised, and now they belong to the Kazuaro-like group.

After the ostrich, it is the second largest bird. In height, it grows to 180 cm, and weighs up to 55 kg. Externally, the emus resembles the described bird, although the body is more compressed laterally and looks stocky, and the legs and neck are shorter, which, incidentally, produces a completely different impression.

The emus (we shall call it so in the old manner) has a black-brown color of feathers, and the head and neck are black. Distinguish the male from the female in these birds can only specialists, and even then during the mating games.

Emu also can run

Emu has an atypical feather cap that helps the bird to be active even in the midday heat. Feathers have a hairy structure and resemble wool in appearance. Therefore, if the body emu, decorated with long feathers, looks like a live shovel, then on the neck and head of the bird they are curly and short.

Like the African ostrich, he has long enough strong legs. Only in emu they are armed not with two but with three three-phalanx fingers. The speed of the ostrich in the event of danger reaches 50 km / h, but this does not limit the talents of birds. It is still excellent on the water and, despite its weight, can swim quite a long distance.

How emu multiply

Emu eats mostly vegetative food - grass, roots, berries and seeds. However, in times of hunger birds do not disdain insects. Since emu does not have teeth, they, like African ostriches, are forced to swallow small pebbles so that the food ingested in the digestive system can be further crushed.

Emu in nature have practically no enemies, so they live in small families - from two to five birds. In such a family, one male and several females. Emu males are wonderful daddies. They take upon themselves the burden of caring for the offspring, from the moment when the female lays a few eggs in a hole dug by them.

The fact is that, like African ostriches, these are courted immediately after all the ladies of their pack, so the time to lay eggs comes almost at the same time. And to postpone their females go to the nest that the boyfriend demonstrated. So it turns out that in one place there are up to 25 eggs from different females. The egg of the ostrich is emu large, dark green, covered with a thick shell.

The male emu commits a parental feat

Embrying eggs in emu deals only with the male. He sets himself up on the nest, and the female, on the contrary, leaves it as soon as all the eggs are laid. Incubation lasts up to 56 days. And no one replaces the male. Sometimes he lets himself get up to stretch his legs, and walks around the nest or goes to drink water and eats a leaf or blade of grass along the way. This diet of a happy father is limited.

Emu lose during incubation up to 15% of their weight, but this does not prevent them from being attentive and caring fathers, when in 2 months they have a spotlight and fluffy babies.

Ostriches do not threaten extinction

The beauty of the feathers and the durability of the skin of these birds nearly led to the fact that even the famous speed of the ostrich in the event of danger could no longer save them - they were mercilessly exterminated. Thus, in 1966, the Middle Eastern species of these birds was identified as disappeared.

But, thanks to the fact that from the end of the 19th century. Began their breeding on farms, the total number of ostriches is no longer threatened. They are bred in almost fifty countries of the world, regardless of climate.

This bird is unpretentious in its content, it can withstand large temperature changes, and its meat, according to experts, resembles lean beef, to say nothing of taste, not to mention the strong and beautiful skin that goes to making various products, and eggs (eggs from one ostrich is equal to A dish of twenty chicken eggs).

Feathers in birds are not pulled, but cut close to the surface of the skin twice a year. For this procedure, incidentally, only deserved - two-, three-year-old males and older are suitable. In juveniles, feathers do not have a commodity value.