Male: General plumage, black. Flight and tail feathers, white and plume-like. Prominent thick black eyelashes. Breeding: red gape, edge of upper mandible, feet and toes. Temporary red color to neck and legs during displays.
Female: Bill, horn. Head, upper two-thirds of neck, grey. Legs, grey. Feet and toes, horn-brown.
Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) [XC845944]
by Michael Chiappone from Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas, United States (call, booms)
Common Ostrich (Struthio) [XC563003]
by from Camdeboo Local Municipality, Western District, Eastern Cape, South Africa (begging call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia.
J
F
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A
M
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S
O
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D
Nest
A scrape in the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
10 - 25, usually 15 - 20; cream with smooth glossy, surface heavily pitted; oval; 135 - 158 x 110 - 130 mm. Incubation: 39 - 42 days; by both sexes. Eggs are laid every other day and incubation begins after completion of the clutch.
Subspecies
Subspecies syriacus recently extinct. Possible subspecies spatzi of doubtful validity.
Pehaps both camelus and australis may be present in Australia.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
camelus Linnaeus, 1758 - Western and southern Sahara, Sahel.
molybdophanes Reichenow, 1883 - Southern Ethiopia to Somalia and adjacent north-eastern Kenya. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Somali Ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes).
massaicus Neumann, 1898 - Southern Kenya to Tanzania.
australis Gurney Sr, 1868 - Southern Africa.
syriacus! Rothschild, 1919 - Syrian and Arabian Deserts. Extinct.
Similar Species
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
Smaller. Has a darker neck, lacks the bare pink thighs and has more feathers.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet