Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Ostrich: The World's Largest Living Bird

The ostrich (Struthio camelus), also called the common ostrich, is the world's largest living bird. Males stand up to 2.7 metres tall and weigh 100 to 130 kg. It cannot fly, but it is the fastest animal on two legs and lives in the grasslands and savannas of Africa.

Habitat

Grassland, savanna, shrubland and desert

Size

Males 2.1-2.7 m and 100-130 kg; females 1.7-1.9 m and 90-110 kg

Speed

Sustained 48-59 km/h; sprint about 70 km/h

Diet

Mostly plants; also insects and small animals

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa; extinct on the Arabian Peninsula

Conservation

Least Concern, decreasing (IUCN/BirdLife 2025)

Habitat & range

The common ostrich lives in open country: the grasslands, savannas and shrublands of southern and eastern Africa. It can also survive in deserts and open woodland (Smithsonian's National Zoo). This card is the common ostrich (Struthio camelus). A second living species, the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes), lives in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya and is treated as a separate species (Smithsonian's National Zoo; BirdLife International). Living subspecies of the common ostrich include the North African ostrich (S. c. camelus), the Masai ostrich (S. c. massaicus) and the South African ostrich (S. c. australis). The Arabian ostrich (S. c. syriacus) became extinct in the 1960s. Smithsonian's National Zoo also notes that the North African ostrich is critically endangered. Until the mid-20th century ostriches also lived in southwestern Asia and on the Arabian Peninsula, but they were hunted out there and now survive in the wild in sub-Saharan Africa (Animal Diversity Web). BirdLife International assessed the remaining range as extremely large and listed the habitats as savanna, shrubland, grassland and some farmland (BirdLife International / IUCN, 2025).

Size & appearance

The ostrich is the largest and heaviest bird alive today. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives males a height of 2.1 to 2.7 metres (6.9 to 9 feet) and a weight of 100 to 130 kg (220 to 287 pounds), and females 1.7 to 1.9 metres (5.7 to 6.2 feet) and 90 to 110 kg (198 to 242 pounds). Smithsonian's National Zoo gives a similar adult range of 90 to 136 kg (200 to 300 pounds) and a height of up to 2.7 metres (9 feet), with females usually shorter than males. Animal Diversity Web lists a range mass of 90 to 130 kg. Adult males have fluffy black body feathers with white wings and a white or cream tail. Adult females and young birds are grayish brown (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance). The head and neck are covered only in fine, wispy down, so they look almost bare, and the long legs are unfeathered (Smithsonian's National Zoo). An ostrich's eye is almost 5 centimetres (2 inches) across, the largest eye of any land animal (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance). Smithsonian's National Zoo notes that the eyes are bigger than the bird's brain. Each foot has only two toes, unique among living birds, and the large inner toe ends in a long, sharp claw (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; Smithsonian's National Zoo). That is a clear difference from an emu, which is smaller, has a fully feathered neck and has three toes (Smithsonian's National Zoo). The ostrich also has no casque and no wattles, so it is easy to tell from a cassowary.

Diet & behaviour

Ostriches are omnivores, though most of what they eat is plants: leafy greens, flowering plants, roots, grasses, succulents and seeds. They also take fallen fruit, insects such as grasshoppers and locusts, and small animals such as mice, lizards and frogs (Smithsonian's National Zoo). San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance adds snakes or rodents that come within reach, and notes that ostriches swallow sand, pebbles and small stones to grind food in the gizzard. They can go for long periods without drinking, because they get much of their water from plants (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; National Geographic). They cannot fly. The breastbone is flattened rather than keeled, so there is no anchor for the large flight muscles of flying birds (Smithsonian's National Zoo). They are, however, the fastest two-legged animals on Earth. Scientists have seen them run continuously at 48 to 59 km/h (30 to 37 mph) and sprint at up to about 70 km/h (43 mph) (Smithsonian's National Zoo). San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives a steady speed of 50 km/h (31 mph) and the same 70 km/h (43 mph) sprint, with a stride of 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet). They hold their wings out while running, using them as rudders to change direction (Smithsonian's National Zoo; National Geographic). Wild ostriches live alone or in small groups, usually about a dozen birds, though some groups hold as many as 100 (Smithsonian's National Zoo). They often feed near grazing mammals such as zebras and antelope (Animal Diversity Web; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance). When threatened, the first defence is to run. If they have to stand their ground, a kick from the clawed two-toed foot can kill a lion (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; National Geographic). They do not bury their heads in the sand. Ostriches dig nests in the ground and sometimes lower their heads to check or turn the eggs. They may also lie down and press the long neck flat against the ground when they cannot run, so that from a distance only the body is obvious (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; National Geographic).

Breeding

Ostriches are polygamous. A dominant male mates with one or more females and courts them with a dance: he bows, flaps each wing in turn, shakes his tail and stomps on the ground (Smithsonian's National Zoo). Nests are communal. Several females lay in the same scrape in the ground. Each female lays about seven to ten eggs, and a nest may contain up to 50 eggs (Smithsonian's National Zoo). A later Smithsonian explainer notes that a nest may hold 30 to 40 eggs, of which the adults can cover only about 20 at a time, and that extra eggs are often pushed out. An ostrich egg is about 15 centimetres (6 inches) long and weighs up to about 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds), roughly the weight of two dozen chicken eggs (Smithsonian's National Zoo). San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives about 15 by 13 centimetres (6 by 5 inches) and about 1,500 grams (3 pounds). The male and the main female take turns incubating. After about 45 days the chicks hatch (Smithsonian's National Zoo); Animal Diversity Web gives a figure of about 40 days. Newly hatched chicks are about the size of a chicken. They grow about 30 centimetres (1 foot) a month and are nearly as large as their parents by about six months (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance). They reach sexual maturity at about three to four years (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance).

Conservation

BirdLife International assessed the common ostrich as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2025 (assessment dated 27 May 2025). The population is decreasing, but the range is extremely large and the decline is not thought to be fast enough to meet the threshold for a threatened category. BirdLife estimates about 300,000 to 900,000 birds (BirdLife International DataZone; IUCN, 2025). Smithsonian's National Zoo notes that wild populations have declined, mainly because of habitat loss and overhunting, that the Arabian ostrich became extinct in the 1960s, and that the North African ostrich is critically endangered. The IUCN assessment similarly says the species once suffered from the plume trade and hunting and is now most threatened by habitat loss.

Fun facts about Ostrich

• The ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs, with sprints of about 70 km/h (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance).
• It lays the largest egg of any living bird, about 1.4 to 1.5 kg (3 pounds) (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance).
• It is the only living bird with just two toes on each foot (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance).
• Its eye is almost 5 cm across, larger than its brain and the largest of any land animal (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; Smithsonian's National Zoo).
• It does not bury its head in the sand: the myth comes from nesting and from lying low with the neck pressed to the ground (Smithsonian's National Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; National Geographic).

Ostrich vs African Lion

A kick can kill a lion, but lions hunt in groups, and that teamwork can still bring an ostrich down.

Ostriches and African lions share the open grasslands and savannas of Africa, and lions are among the main predators of ostriches (Smithsonian's National Zoo). An ostrich that sees danger in time will run. It can hold 48 to 59 km/h (30 to 37 mph) and sprint at about 70 km/h (43 mph) (Smithsonian's National Zoo). If it cannot flee, a kick from its two-toed, clawed foot can kill a lion (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; National Geographic). A single lion that meets a healthy adult ostrich head-on is taking a real risk. Lions hunt cooperatively, though, and that is how they tackle large prey. This pairing gives the round to the pride: speed and a deadly kick keep many ostriches alive, but a coordinated hunt can still overwhelm one bird.

Read more about African Lion.

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