Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE OSTRICHES

(Order Struthioniformes)

It is perhaps needless to say that the Ostriches are the largest of existing birds, a fully matured individual standing some eight feet in height and weighing quite three hundred pounds. But aside from preponderating size and weight they are readily separable from all other birds by the possession of a number of marked characters, the most important of which is the fact that they alone have but two toes—the third and fourth.

They have a short, broad, and somewhat flattened bill opening to under the eyes, with the tip strong, rounded, and overtopping the lower mandible, while the oval nostrils are placed in a membranous groove near tjie middle.

The whole head is relatively very small and the neck relatively very long, while the wings are short, imperfectly developed, and provided with long, soft plumes, and the tail is also short and composed of curved, drooping plumes; all feathers are without an aftershaft. The legs are very strong and covered in front near the toes with transverse scales.

The toes are short but very thick and strong, and provided with short, stunted nails, though that of the outer toe is commonly absent. Another character of importance is that in the adult the head, neck, and legs are destitute of feathers.

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