At 2.5 m tall the ostrich is the world’s largest and heaviest bird. Its significant weight - up to 145 kg – prohibits the bird from taking flight. But the ostrich has many unique abilities that make it well-adapted to living in the savannah, desert and open woodlands of Africa.
The ostrich is equipped with long, muscular legs built for running. Unlike other birds, which have four toes, ostriches have only two toes on each foot which allows for a greater speed. They can sprint as fast as 70 km/h and hold a steady speed of 50 km/h. One stride spans about 3.5m. Considering this it means that an ostrich can run the London Marathon in about 45 minutes.
Their diet consists mainly of roots, leaves and seeds, but ostriches will eat whatever is available. Sometimes they consume insects, snakes, lizards and rodents. They also swallow sand and pebbles which help them grind up their food in their gizzard. Because the ostrich has the ability to grind food they can eat things that other animals cannot digest. Ostriches can also withstand hot temperatures and go for long periods of time without water. Usually they get enough moisture from the plants that they eat.
A male ostriches are called a cock or rooster and females are called hens. According to the dictionary the collective noun for a group of ostriches is either a flock, a wobble or a pride of ostriches. The group has a dominant male and a dominant female and several other females.
Ostrich eggs are 15 cm in diameter and can weigh up to 1.3 kg (the largest eggs in the world!). Eggs are laid in a communal nest called a dump nest, which can hold about 60 eggs at one time. Males as well as females sit on the eggs until they hatch, which can take 42 to 46 days. At the age of one month an ostrich chick can already reach speeds of 55 km/h.
Ostriches fight with their feet. They kick forward because that's the direction in which their legs bend. A solid kick can kill a lion.
In the wild an ostrich can reach the age of 40 years and up to 70 years in captivity.