W.E.S. - Ostrich

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" ALINK="#FF0000" VLINK="#FF0000" TOPMARGIN="10" BOTTOMMARGIN="10" LEFTMARGIN="10" RIGHTMARGIN="10"> <IMG SRC="../../media/birds/ostrich.jpg" ALT="Ostrich" WIDTH="230" HEIGHT="213" BORDER="0" ALIGN="left" VSPACE="8" HSPACE="8"> <FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="6"><B>Ostrich</B></FONT> <BR> <FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="2"><I>Struthio camelus</I></FONT> <FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="3"> <P ALIGN="justify"> Ostriches are found in 2 areas in Africa. One location stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia, the other location covers the ground of South Africa to Tanzania. They <A HREF="../glossary.html#inhabit" TARGET="eslist">inhabit</A> open areas like deserts, semi-deserts, and grassland. <P ALIGN="justify"> These are the largest and tallest flightless birds in the world. On an average, ostriches stand up to 8 feet (2.5m) high. They have white fluffy feathers on its wings and tails. Since their inability to fly, ostriches developed strong legs. They can run as fast as 40 miles per hour (64 km/hr). When they are being preyed upon, ostriches use their sharp eyesight and fast running legs to escape for safety. <P ALIGN="justify"> Ostriches eat leaves, stems, flowers, and plants. They use their blunt beak to pluck these foods. <P ALIGN="justify"> A male, when attracting mates, squats down in sexual positions and waves their wings and necks. Males can mate up to 5 females. All the females combined can lay as much as 40 eggs. The dominant female kicks out about 20 of the 40 eggs and keep the other 20 to herself. Both parents look after the young. <P ALIGN="justify"> Now ostriches are <A HREF="../glossary.html#endangered" TARGET="eslist">endangered</A>. People in South Africa capture them for their wings and tails. Once populated the Arabian Peninsula, they are now <A HREF="../glossary.html#extinct" TARGET="eslist">extinct</A> in that area. </FONT> <BR><BR> <IMG SRC="../../media/maps/ostrich.gif" ALT="Map of Where Ostriches Are Located" WIDTH="320" HEIGHT="183" BORDER="0" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="2" ALIGN="right"> <P ALIGN="justify"> <FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="2"> <U>Bibliography</U> </FONT> <UL TYPE="square"> <LI><FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="1">Harrison, Colin and Alan Greensmith. <U>Birds of the World</U>. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. <LI>Information from the Wildlife Conservation Society Park - Bronx Zoo. </FONT> </UL> <BR> <FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="1"> [<A HREF="../esframe.html#es" TARGET="_top">Endangered Species List</A>] [ <A HREF="../slide/ostrich_slide.html" TARGET="_top">Back to slide show</A> ] <BR><BR> <HR WIDHT="75%" SIZE="2"> &#169 1998 Team 19689 - World Endangered Species <BR> <ADDRESS>../19689/data/birds/ostrich_frame.html</ADDRESS></FONT> </BODY> </object></layer></div></span></style></noscript></table></script></applet><link href="http://library.thinkquest.org/banner/banner.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><script language="javascript" src="http://library.thinkquest.org/banner/banner.html"></script>