There is just one known species of ostrich in the world – it is in the order of Struthioniformes.
Description: largest living bird, males are jet black with white plumage and bright red or blue skin; females are fairly uniform in color, with earthy gray-brown plumage and skin color.
Life span: around 40 years in managed situations, unknown in the wild
Sexual maturity: 3 to 4 years
Incubation: around 40 days
Habitat: common in the wild in East Africa: in open country, desert areas, and dry savannah.
Diet: bulk of food is vegetation, fruit, seeds, leaves, shoots, shrubs, succulent plants; also invertebrates, occasionally lizards, and other small vertebrates. Stones are ingested to aid in digestion.
One ostrich egg equals up to 24 chicken eggs. And it takes approximately 2 hours to boil!
Ostriches can run up to 70 km/hr (40 mph) and can outpace most pursuers, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas.
It is the largest and heaviest living bird. It is unable to fly and does not possess a keeled sternum (breastbone) common to most birds.
Ostriches stretch out their neck and lay their head on the ground to keep from being seen, hence the myth that ostriches hide in the sand.
Ostriches are so powerful that a single kick at a predator, such as a lion, could be fatal.
A female ostrich shows a remarkable ability to recognize her own eggs even when mixed in with those of other females in their communal nest.