Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The common ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird. Males stand 2.1 to 2.75 m (6 ft 11 in to 9 ft 0 in) tall and weigh 100 to 130 kg (220 to 290 lb), whereas females are about 1.75 to 1.9 m (5 ft 9 in to 6 ft 3 in) tall and weigh 90 to 120 kg (200 to 260 lb). [20]
The Somali ostrich occurs in the Horn of Africa, having evolved isolated from the common ostrich by the geographic barrier of the East African Rift. In some areas, the common ostrich's Masai subspecies occurs alongside the Somali ostrich, but they are kept from interbreeding by behavioral and ecological differences. [15]
The Masai ostrich (Struthio camelus massaicus), also known as the East African ostrich is a red-necked subspecies variety of the common ostrich and is endemic to East Africa. [2] [3] It is one of the largest birds in the world, second only to its sister subspecies Struthio camelus camelus. [4] Today it is farmed for eggs, meat, and feathers. [5 ...
The largest dimensions found in this species are an approximate head-to-tail length of 1.44 m (4.7 ft) and a wingspan of 3.65 m (12.0 ft). The largest bird of all time was likely the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus, which was estimated to have weighed 275–1,000 kilograms (610–2,200 lb) and stood at 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall. [4] [5]
Their tail and flight feathers have retrogressed or have become decorative plumes. They have no feather vanes, which means they do not need to oil their feathers, hence they have no preen glands . They have no separation of pterylae (feathered areas) and apteria (non-feathered areas), [ 38 ] and finally, they have palaeognathous palates .
Many bird species have established breeding populations in areas to which they have been introduced by humans. Some of these introductions have been deliberate; the ring-necked pheasant, for example, has been introduced around the world as a game bird. [70]
The common ostrich is the more widespread of the two living species, and is the largest living bird species. The extinct genus Pachystruthio from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of Eurasia is one of the largest birds ever. [3] The first species of Struthio appear during the Miocene epoch, though various Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene ...
Ostriches are the fastest running birds in the world and emus have been documented running 50 km/h. [8] At these high speeds, wings are necessary for balance and serving as a parachute apparatus to help the bird slow down. Wings are hypothesized to have played a role in sexual selection in early ancestral ratites and were thus maintained. This ...