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) [XC845935]
by Michael Chiappone from Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas, United States (uncertain, \)
Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) [XC845936]
by Michael Chiappone from Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas, United States (uncertain, \)
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.
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.
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