Ostrich Facts for Kids

19 Ostrich Facts For Kids

1. Ostrich is the common name for two living species of large flightless birds in the Struthio genus.
2. The two ostrich species are the common ostrich (Struthio camelus) and the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes).
3. The common ostrich is native to sub-Saharan Africa and Somali ostrich is native to the Horn of Africa.
4. The earliest discovered fossil evidence of species in the Struthio genus was around 21 million years old.
5. Ostriches are found worldwide on farms where humans raise them for feathers, leather hides, and meat.
6. Humans have only been domesticating ostriches for the last 150 years and technically are partly domesticated.
7. Ostriches are considered herbivores, which means they only eat plant material. However, they have been observed eating insects and small lizards.
8. The diet of an ostrich usually includes flowers, grains, green plants, and seeds.
9. Ostriches are the largest and heaviest living birds in the Aves class.
10. The average height of an ostrich is between 7 and 9 feet.
11. The average weight of an ostrich is between 220 and 350 pounds.
12. The average wingspan of an ostrich is 6 feet.
13. Ostriches are the fastest running birds with a running speed up to 43.5 miles per hour.
14. Ostriches lay the biggest eggs of all living bird species.
15. The average ostrich egg weighs about three pounds and is six inches long.
16. Ostriches have the biggest eye of any living terrestrial (land) animal, and their eye is even bigger than their brains.
17. The ostrich eye on average is 2 inches across.
18. A common myth is ostriches stick their head in the sand or dirt when scared, when in fact they will simply run away with threatened.
19. Ostriches do stick their heads into the ground, but that’s because it is where they laid their eggs, and they are rotating them.

Ostrich Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on ostriches. Below are three pictures of various ostrich species. These pictures should help you better understand the different types of ostriches found around the world.

A picture of the common ostrich (struthio camelus).

A picture of the Somali ostrich (struthio molybdophanes).

A picture of ostriches on a farm.