South African (S. c. australis) male (left) and females
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2][note 1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Infraclass:
Palaeognathae
Order:
Struthioniformes
Family:
Struthionidae
Genus:
Struthio
Species:
S. camelus
Binomial name
Struthio camelus
Linnaeus, 1758[3]
Subspecies[3]
S. c. camelus Linnaeus, 1758 North African ostrich
S. c. australis Gurney, 1868 South African ostrich
S. c. massaicus Neumann, 1898 Masai ostrich
†S. c. syriacus Rothschild, 1919 Arabian ostrich
Struthio distribution map
S. c. camelus
S. c. australis
S. c. massaicus
S. molybdophanes
The common ostrich (Struthio camelus), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members of the genus Struthio in the ratite order of birds. The other is the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes), which was recognized as a distinct species by BirdLife International in 2014 having been previously considered a distinctive subspecies of ostrich.[3][4]
The common ostrich belongs to the order Struthioniformes. Struthioniformes previously contained all the ratites, such as the kiwis, emus, rheas, and cassowaries. However, recent genetic analysis has found that the group is not monophyletic, as it is paraphyletic with respect to the tinamous, so the ostriches are now classified as the only members of the order.[5][6] Phylogenetic studies have shown that it is the sister group to all other members of Palaeognathae and thus the flighted tinamous are the sister group to the extinct moa.[7][8] It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs, and can run for a long time at a speed of 55 km/h (34 mph)[9] with short bursts up to about 70 km/h (40 mph),[10] the fastest land speed of any bird.[11] The common ostrich is the largest living species of bird and largest living dinosaur.[12] It lays the largest eggs of any living bird (the extinct giant elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) of Madagascar and the south island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) of New Zealand laid larger eggs). Ostriches are the most dangerous birds on the planet, with an average of two to three deaths being recorded each year in South Africa.[13]
The common ostrich's diet consists mainly of plant matter, though it also eats invertebrates and small reptiles. It lives in nomadic groups of 5 to 50 birds. When threatened, the ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground or run away. If cornered, it can attack with a kick of its powerful legs. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females.
The common ostrich is farmed around the world, particularly for its feathers, which are decorative and are also used as feather dusters. Its skin is used for leather products and its meat is marketed commercially, with its leanness a common marketing point.[10]
^BirdLife International (2018). "Struthio camelus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T45020636A132189458. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T45020636A132189458.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^ abcCite error: The named reference SN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^BirdLife International (2016). "Struthio molybdophanes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22732795A95049558. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
^Clarke, Andrew (14 July 2008). Faculty of 1000 evaluation for A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history (Report). doi:10.3410/f.1115666.571731.
^Mitchell, K. J.; Llamas, B.; Soubrier, J.; Rawlence, N. J.; Worthy, T. H.; Wood, J.; Lee, M. S. Y.; Cooper, A. (23 May 2014). "Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution" (PDF). Science. 344 (6186): 898–900. Bibcode:2014Sci...344..898M. doi:10.1126/science.1251981. hdl:2328/35953. PMID 24855267. S2CID 206555952.
^Baker, A. J.; Haddrath, O.; McPherson, J. D.; Cloutier, A. (2014). "Genomic Support for a Moa-Tinamou Clade and Adaptive Morphological Convergence in Flightless Ratites". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 31 (7): 1686–1696. doi:10.1093/molbev/msu153. PMID 24825849.
^Sellers, W. I.; Manning, P. L. (2007). "Estimating dinosaur maximum running speeds using evolutionary robotics". Proc. R. Soc. B. The Royal Society. 274 (1626): 2711–2716. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0846. PMC 2279215. PMID 17711833.
^ abCite error: The named reference Davies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Doherty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Physics World, February 2, 2017
^Usurelu, Sergiu; Bettencourt, Vanessa; Melo, Gina (2015). "Abdominal trauma by ostrich". Annals of Medicine & Surgery. 4 (1): 41–43. doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2014.12.004. PMC 4323753. PMID 25685344.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
The commonostrich (Struthio camelus), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa. It is one of two extant...
Ostriches are large flightless birds. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, with adult commonostriches weighing anywhere between 63.5 and 145...
living species of ostriches, the other being the commonostrich. It was also previously considered a subspecies of the commonostrich, but was identified...
about 20 in most cases. A female commonostrich can distinguish her own eggs from the others in a communal nest. Ostrich eggs are the largest of all eggs...
ostrich (Struthio camelus australis), also known as the black-necked ostrich, Cape ostrich or southern ostrich is a subspecies of the commonostrich endemic...
North African ostrich, red-necked ostrich, or Barbary ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) is the nominate subspecies of the commonostrich from West and...
The Arabian ostrich (Struthio camelus syriacus), Syrian ostrich, or Middle Eastern ostrich is an extinct subspecies of the ostrich that lived on the Arabian...
The Masai ostrich (Struthio camelus massaicus), also known as the East African ostrich is a red-necked subspecies variety of the commonostrich and is endemic...
extant. The most common, the southern cassowary, is the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich and emu. The other...
flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird in general, is the commonostrich (2.7 m, 156 kg). Many domesticated birds, such as the domestic chicken...
their extinct relatives. The two extant species of ostrich are the commonostrich and Somali ostrich, both in the genus Struthio, which also contains several...
(440 lb) has been cited for the commonostrich but no wild ostriches of this weight have been verified. Eggs laid by the ostrich can weigh 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) and...
measured by mass is the commonostrich (Struthio camelus), closely followed by the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes). A male ostrich can reach a height...
Struthio. Asian ostriches were large, being more robustly built and reaching about the same height as an adult male of the extant commonostrich. It may have...
the second-tallest living bird after its African ratite relative, the commonostrich. The emu's native ranges cover most of the Australian mainland. The...
is a genus of ferns with one species: Matteuccia struthiopteris (common names ostrich fern, fiddlehead fern, or shuttlecock fern). The species epithet...
The ostrich effect, also known as the ostrich problem, was originally coined by Galai & Sade (2003). The name comes from the common (but false) legend...
Struthioniformes, which is more recently regarded as containing only the ostrich. The modern bird superorder Palaeognathae consists of ratites and the flighted...
(Mellisuga helenae), which is only 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in), to the giant African ostrich (Struthio camelus), almost 280 cm (9.2 ft) in height. Davies, S.J.J.F....
size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) commonostrich. There are over 11,000 living species, more than half of which are passerine...
French governor of Madagascar during the 1640s and 1650s, mentioned an ostrich-like bird, said to inhabit unpopulated regions, although it is unclear...
probably represented large females of the species. Like the cassowaries, ostriches, rheas, emu and kiwis, Elephant bird was a ratite; it could not fly, and...
that came before and after them. The largest extant theropod is the commonostrich, up to 2.74 m (9 ft) tall and weighing between 90 and 130 kg (200 -...
(another became extinct in historic times), two of rheas (Rhea) and two of ostriches (Struthio). Recent research has indicated that paleognaths are monophyletic...
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