Ostrich

Huge, heavy ostriches.

Ostriches are big, black, grey and sandy coloured birds, which cannot fly and have long legs and necks.
Ostriches are native to the savannahs and deserts of most of Africa, and often travel and graze with peaceful African animals such as zebras or giraffes.
The scientific name of ostriches is Struthio camelus and are from the family Struthionidae, which is a family of flightless birds, or ratites.
Ostriches weigh between 63 to 145 kg (140 to 320 pounds) and be 1.7 to 2.8 meters (5.6 to 9.2 feet) in height, and can run for up to 70km/hour (43miles/hour) but they run at 50 km/hour (31 miles/hour) on average.
Ostriches are the largest bird species, have the largest eyes and lay the largest eggs of all non-extinct birds and land animals.

Depending on the season, ostriches can be found living in herds or flocks of 5 to 50, living in pairs or by themselves.
Ostriches eat plants or small land animals and insects, and can go without drinking water for long periods of time, because they absorb moisture from their food.
To escape predators an ostrich usually runs away or lies flat on the ground to blend into its surroundings, but if cornered or threatened the bird will deliver a powerful kick with it’s two toed, sharp clawed foot, which can kill a human or large animal like a lion, but it can only kick forwards.
Ostriches are bred on farms for feathers, leather and meat, which tastes a bit like beef, and they can be ridden on, in a similar way to a horse.
All the female ostriches in one flock will usually lay their eggs in one nest, with the male and the dominant female taking it in turns to sit on them, although on average, less than 10% of the nests will survive to hatching, and only 15% of the hatched ostrich chicks will live to the age of one.

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