Find here past animals featured in this page:  >Rhino  >Camel   >Giraffe   >Kangaroo   >Zebra  

You probably think that all birds can fly, but that is not the case.
One group of flightless birds, called ratites, includes ostriches, rheas, emus, cassowaries, and kiwis.  Ratites are different from other flightless birds.  Their name means “raft” in Latin (ratis) because their breastbone is shaped like a flat raft.

 

Ratites, unlike most birds, don’t need to fly to survive, most of them are big and all of them are fast. Ratites also have a special feather called a “plume feather”. These feathers are unlike bird of flight feathers because they lack the microscopic barbs that hold the feather together. Plume feathers appear to be hair like and breezy, which is good when needing to move through the wind in order to run fast.

 

Since ancient times, people have decorated themselves with ratite plumes, and made water bottles and dishes out of ratite eggshells. The ancient Egyptians trained ostriches to pull carts. But the ostriches tired out quickly, squatted down, and quit.

 

Left, Ostrich Dance.

 

 

 
   
 

Fun Facts
  • Native to Africa
  • Largest bird in the world
  • Weighing from 200-300 pounds
  • Stand from 6-7 feet tall
  • Only bird with just two toes
  • Largest bird of course lays the largest egg. One Ostrich egg = 12 farm eggs and weighs around three pounds.
  • Fastest bird on the ground reaching up to 45 mph
  • NBWR has two colors of male ostrich, red necks and blue necks
  • Females are brown and males are black
  • Ostrich has two sets of eye lids up and down and side to side
  • Their brain is smaller then the size of their eye ball
  • When a male ostrich gets down and does his dance its a territorial behavior
  • When he blows up his neck and makes a deep blowing noise, he is calling for a mate
  • The bones of a ratite (ostrich family) are not hollow, like a bird of flight; they are heavier and stronger to support their great weight.
  • Ostriches have tread on their feet to protect the foot as it runs.
  • Ostriches often travel with herds of oryx, other antelopes and zebras. The tall ostrich keeps an eye out for trouble while the other animals stir up insects, small reptiles, and rodents-which ostriches like to eat.
  • An ostrich may run faster then a horse, but it can not run as far. After about half an hour is slows down.
  • Ostriches do not stick their head in the sand, this is a myth. When an ostrich is cornered and has not other defense they will lay down on the ground, their head/neck blend in with the sand.
  • Ostriches like to live in groups; normally a group consists of 10 but have been known to get as large as 100 ostriches at a time.

BACK TO TOP