Chordate Zoology - Textbook - I. V. Tsaryk - 2013

Chapter 5. SUPERCLASS TETRAPODS (TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES) TETRAPODA, seu QUADRIPEDA.

ANAMNIANS (ANAMNIA) AND AMNIOTES (AMNIOTA)

5.3. CLASS BIRDS AVES

5.3.3. Taxonomy and characteristics of representatives of the main orders of the class Aves

5.3.3.2.Superorder Typical, or New Palate Birds Neognathae

5.3.3.1. Order Ostriches Struthioniformes

Represented by a single species, the African ostrich Struthio camelus, which currently inhabits the Deserts and semi-deserts of Africa (Fig. 5.45, 2). As the largest of all birds, its mass reaches 75–100 kg. Flightless, but a fast runner. The wing Skeleton is shortened, the furcula is reduced, and the Sternum lacks a keel. The hind limb has only two digits. Feathers cover the entire body uniformly. Flight feathers and tail feathers serve a decorative function. The male is black with white flight and tail feathers, while females are brownish-grey. They feed on coarse plant material, which is ground down in the muscular gizzard.

Typically, 2–5 females stay with a single male, laying eggs weighing about 1.5 kg in a shared nest. At night, the clutch is incubated by the male, and during the day, by the females in turn. After 6–7 weeks, sighted, down-covered chicks hatch, capable of finding food on their own. The chicks roam together with the adult birds. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 3–5 years.