That’s probably faster than the speed of your family’s car when you drive through a city. With its long, powerful legs, an ostrich outruns many predators. As it runs, it holds its wings out to the side for balance.
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| photo credit Peter Kirkeskov Rasmussen |
If an ostrich cannot run away from danger, it often drops to the ground to try to hide. It lies on the ground with its head and neck stretched flat. Its lightly colored head and neck blend in with the sand. From a distance, it might look as if an ostrich has stuck its head underground. But really, the bird is lying still, hoping that it will not be noticed. If an animal manages to trap the ostrich, the ostrich will try to kick it with its powerful legs. An ostrich kick can injure or kill an attacker.
While ostriches don't bury their heads in sand, they do dip their beaks in it. An ostrich swallows sand
and small stones to help it digest its food. Inside its gizzard (a part of its stomach), the sand and stones grind up the hard seeds and insects that the ostrich eats.
Ostriches are the largest living birds. They can be 3 meters tall. So it’s not surprising that they lay the largest eggs. An ostrich egg weighs about as much as two dozen chicken eggs. You'd have to be pretty hungry to eat a scrambled ostrich egg for breakfast!
