Tuesday 27 April 2010

ABC Wednesday, O for Ostrich





Posted by Picasa

Please click to enlarge these photos.

When we were in Australia in 2008, we stayed in a caravan park in the Tablelands. One of the most attractive animals in this caravan park, was this male ostrich, even if it's not an indigenous animal in Australia. It was nice to see Ozzie at close quarters.
It's an interesting bird and the largest flightless bird of its kind. It's native to the savannas in Africa.
Ostriches usually weigh from 63 to 130 kilograms (140–290 lb), with exceptional male Ostriches weighing up to 155 kilograms (340 lb). The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white primaries and a white tail. However, the tail of one subspecies is buff. Females and young males are greyish-brown and white. The head and neck of both male and female Ostriches is nearly bare, with a thin layer of down.. The skin of the females neck and thighs is pinkish gray, while the male's is blue or gray dependent on subspecies.


The long neck and legs keeps their head 1.8 to 2.75 metres (6 to 9 ft) above the ground, and their eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate – 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in diameter; they can therefore perceive predators at a great distance. The eyes are shaded from sun light falling from above.


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with O.

32 comments:

Anya said...

Wat een prachtige foto's
geweldig :)
Uw nieuwe foto bovenaan is uniek
zo prachtige natuur !!!!
Fijne avond ..

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Great photos! That must have been a trip to remember! What a lovely place.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I always think that ostriches look rather sweet, wil - but I understand they can be quite nasty creatures.

EG CameraGirl said...

How interesting. My husband and I passed a farm a couple of days ago and thought I spotted an ostrich. We backed up...and it WAS an ostrich! But now I'll have to check my photo to see if I can tell if it's a male or female.

Tarun Mitra said...

great photos I almost thought u captured them in wild

Leslie: said...

And it's related to the Australian emu. You got some great shots here! :D

Sylvia K said...

I love your photos, Wil, as always! And I love ostriches! What a lovely place to stay and to have such great, feathered company!! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

Sylvia

My name is Riet said...

Wat een mooie foto's Wil. Dat moet een geweldige reis geweest zijn. Fijne avond!

Tumblewords: said...

The last ostrich I saw was in Arizona at a farm. They always make me giggle, for some warped reason. :)

Anonymous said...

too bad you don't have a photo of an ostrich with its head in the ground. That would have been interesting. The male ostrich you show is lovely, though.

Patty said...

They are strange birds aren't they and they say their brain is very small. Hope you had a wonderful wee-end. It rained here almost all week-end. Today I mowed, because they say more rain is coming. The grass is growing so fast.

Kim, USA said...

I haven't seen this animal in person but as I have known they run fast lol!! And they can also be mean. ^_^ And there meat is good and pricey too. Happy Wednesday!

ABC Wednesday~O

Vicki Lane said...

What a beautiful header!

Looking at ostriches or emus has convinced me that they are truly descended from the dinosaurs

anthonynorth said...

They're amazing birds. Thanks for another great post.

Cloudia said...

What a wonderful surprise!

And yes, Bless our ANZAC friends



Aloha from Waikiki


Comfort Spiral

Roger Owen Green said...

great shots.

Still, I have a song by Steppenwolf called the Ostrich stuck in my mind.

ROGER, ABC Wednesday team

Anonymous said...

Looks like he could be a wonderful friend to me. Please have a nice Wednesday.


daily athens

Jama said...

We have the ostrichs here in the zoo and the bird park.In some countries the are breed for their meat and feathers.

photowannabe said...

Nice pictures of an interesting bird. I loved seeing one in the wilds of Kenya.

Hildred said...

What a handsome fellow! Thank you for all the interesting information about the ostrich, - great photos.

Unknown said...

Birds was a popular choice today!!
the speed of the ostrich always baffles me!

Etje said...

Heb het altijd al prachtige dieren gevonden.

Geniet van het zonnetje hoor

Reader Wil said...

Hi Dragonfly, I am sorry that I have no access to your blog! Anyway thank you for your visit!

jabblog said...

How lovely - pink for a girl and blue for a boy! What could be simpler?

Serline said...

Soothing header, feels 1 - 2 degrees cooler just looking at it. Wilting under sweltering conditions here in Bangkok...

Arkansas Patti said...

I too thought the pink and blue such a easy way to distinguish sexes. Now I will really look when I see one. Farming them and Emues was briefly popular in the states and there are a few hold outs here and there.

Nydia said...

What a sweet creature! In Brazil ostrich starts with an "A", avestruz. Good choice next round for me! LOL

Kisses from Nydia.

jay said...

I have ostrich in my ABC post, too, but ... um .. in a slightly different form! LOL!

Love your pictures - you got nice and close, didn't you? But happily a fence between you, since I understand ostriches can be quite aggressive.

Gattina said...

What a good idea to present ostriches I like these birds they have such big eyes with long eyelashes !

Carol said...

Wonderful shots of this very large bird!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Your header photo is so beautiful. The Ponga trees makes it look like you took the photo in New Zealand.

Please tell me it is.

We have an ostrich farm here in Rotorua.

Etje said...

Kom je op deze grijze dag toch het beste wensen