Home › Animalia › Animalpedia › Birds › Common ostrich
Presentation
The African Ostrich is the largest living bird species today. Flightless, it compensates with exceptional ground locomotion, reaching speeds of up to 70 km/h. Its massive body, long muscular legs, and elongated neck make it a fascinating and instantly recognizable animal.
Males display black plumage, while females and juveniles have greyish-brown feathers. The head and neck are partially bare, showing reddish or bluish skin depending on the population. Vestigial wings serve not for flight but for thermoregulation and courtship displays. The featherless legs are robust, bearing only two toes.
Characteristics
Indicative values: they vary by subspecies, sex and region.
Habitat and distribution
The Ostrich inhabits open, arid and semi-arid environments: deserts, savannas, and steppes across Africa. It favors areas with scattered vegetation and prefers flat terrain, remarkably adapting to extreme drought conditions and prolonged water scarcity.
CURRENT RANGE
The Ostrich is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, from the southern Sahara to semi-arid lands of southern Africa. Once present in North Africa, its population has declined dramatically. It is absent from Tunisia in the wild, though historical records document its former presence in southern desert regions.
Behaviour
Terrestrial and diurnal, the Ostrich lives in flexible social groups of up to several dozen individuals. It has excellent vision and sharp hearing. Though generally calm, it can become aggressive during breeding season. Its rapid sprint is its primary defense against predators.
Reproduction
Ostriches are polyandrous: a female may mate with several males. The nest is a simple hollow dug in sand where the female lays 4 to 8 eggs. Incubation lasts approximately 42 to 46 days, carried out by the dominant male at night and females during the day. Chicks follow adults for several months before independence.
Peculiarities
The Ostrich produces the largest eggs in the animal kingdom: approximately 1.4 kg each. It can travel long distances without drinking, storing body water with remarkable efficiency. Its eyes are larger than its brain, providing exceptional environmental surveillance. It employs thermoregulation through its wings and feathers.
Threats and conservation
The Ostrich remains relatively unthreated globally and maintains a favorable conservation status. However, it faces local pressures from poaching, habitat loss due to agricultural and pastoral expansion, and climate change affecting food and water availability.
Numbers and trends vary across sources and regions. See the IUCN assessment for the latest reference data.
Gallery
1 documented photographs.
References
UICN — Liste rouge des espèces menacées
Profile updated 08 August 2026 · Reviewed by the TunisieVet editorial team.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Least concern (LC)
IUCN source, latest published assessment.
Related species
To discover around: Common ostrich
Videos, facts, stories and records linked to this species.
Similar animals
Other species documented in Animalpedia.