- Struthio camelus
Identification
World's largest bird with males weighing up to 156 kg.
Male Male 210–275 cm (82¾-108¼ in), female 175–190 cm (69-74¾ in)
- Long bare neck
- legs flesh-pink becoming brighter during the breeding season
Male
Brownish black with white neck collar, wings and tail
Female and Immature
Greyish-brown
Distribution
Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritania to Sudan and southern Kenya, south to Tanzania and in southern Africa in southern Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa.
Formerly widespread in northern Africa but now rare or an occasional visitor to southern Morocco and northern parts of Mali, Niger and Chad. Recently recorded in southern Egypt and may breed in small numbers.
Now extinct in the Middle East and not reliably recorded since the 1940s although there is an unconfirmed report from Jordan in 1966.
Reintroduction attempts are underway in the Negev Desert of southern Israel.
A small population of race australis may persist in south-central Australia, descendants of birds imported for the plume trade.
Resident and often nomadic, particularly in arid areas.
Taxonomy
Somali Ostrich was formerly included in this species.
Subspecies
Four subspecies recognized[1]:
- S. c. camelus in the Sahel of North Africa and the Sudan
- S. c. syriacus formerly in Syrian and Arabian deserts. Extinct around 1966
- S. c. massaicus in southern Kenya and eastern Tanzania - pinkish-grey neck, flushing bright red during the breeding season and narrower white neck ring
- S. c. australis in Southern Africa but pure wild birds are perhaps confined to Namibia and Botswana - neck is greyish, flushing red in breeding male and lacks white collar, tail brown
North-west African birds are sometimes separated as spatzi.
Habitat
Semi-desert, arid short-grass plains and open wooded savanna.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on grasses, seeds and leaves. In dry areas succulent plants are also taken. Takes sometimes insects and small vertebrates.
Forages in groups, browsing close to ground.
Breeding
The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground. Usually the major hen lays 5 to 11 eggs and 2 to 5 minor hens lay 2 to 6 eggs each in the common nest. The young form large groups which are accompanied by one or more adults for the first 9 months.
Vocalisation
Mainly silent but makes occasional hissing sounds.
Male has a deep booming during the breeding season.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Folch, A., D. A. Christie, F. Jutglar, and E. F. J. Garcia (2020). Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.ostric2.01
- Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy and possible splits of Ostrich
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Common Ostrich. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Ostrich
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
