Struthionidae-+Coppola

The Ostrich!!!!  Although the Ostrich is a bird it is not able to fly. The Ostrich is actually built for running. It has very long legs and can run up to 43 mph and keep a steady pace of 31mph.

Food and Transportation-  The Ostrich is flightless so it gets around by walking on its long and powerful legs. Ostriches are omnivores but mostly eat vegetation. It eats plants, leaves, seeds, and a lot of roots. They also eat insects like the locust and small lizards. The food they eat is collected in the crop or the top of the throat. The food stays there until there is a large “lump” to slide down into the gizzard.

Mature-  It takes 3 to 4 years for an Ostrich to fully mature to an adult. The male can get as large as 6.9 to 9 feet and weigh up to 270 pounds! The female can be as tall as 5.7 to 6.2 feet and weigh 198 to 242 pounds.

Adaptations-  There are many ways an Ostrich adapts to its environment but these are the three main ones. First, an Ostrich eats small stones to help grind food in their gizzard. Next, they lie flat on the ground for protection. When an Ostrich senses danger it doesn’t stick its head into the ground, that’s just a myth. It actually lies flat on the ground so a predator can only see the body, making the Ostrich appear dead. Ostriches, unlike other animals, do not drink. They will drink if they see a pond, but otherwise they don’t drink.

Reproduction- A female Ostrich can have 10 eggs at once, but since up to 25 hens all lay eggs in one nest, there can be 50 eggs in one nest. The gestation period for a baby ostrich is 42 to 46 days.

The Ostrich is classified as: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Struthioniformes <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Family: Struthionidae <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Genus: Struthio <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Species: //camelus// (North American) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">//molybdophanes// (Somali) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">//massaicus// (Masai) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">//australis// (South African)

<span style="color: #0bbc5d; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Female and Male Differences- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"> There are many different ways of how the male and female Ostrich are different. For instance, the male is black with white tail feathers when the female is light brown with white tail feathers. The male is also larger in height and weight. The general characteristics of birds are 2 legs, a beak, a tail, and finally 2 wings.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Four examples from this class are the: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">1. Rifleman- Acanthisitta //chloris// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">2. Shikra- Accipiter //badius// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">3. Cooper’s Hawk- Accipiter //cooperii// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">4. Western Spineball- Acanthorhynchus //superciliosus//

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