---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Ostrich | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "51 claims from the Common Ostrich profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/common-ostrich-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-ostrich/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Common Ostrich (*Struthio camelus*)

> 51 claims from the Common Ostrich profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Ostrich](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-ostrich/)

## Ostrich. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ostrich

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| sprinting in bursts of up to 43 miles an hour | Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour) |
| on two toes | Ostriches are the only birds that have only two toes: all other birds have three or more. |
| a kick powerful enough to kill a lion | it attacks with a ​clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion. |
| Sprints in short bursts of up to 43 mph (70 km/h) | Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour) (note: stats.superpower field.) |
| holds a steady 31 mph (50 km/h) | they can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) (note: stats.superpower field.) |
| the only two-toed feet of any bird | Ostriches are the only birds that have only two toes: all other birds have three or more. (note: stats.superpower field.) |
| A Giant Built on Two Toes | Ostriches are the only birds that have only two toes: all other birds have three or more. (note: Heading; the claim is stated in full in the sentence that follows it.) |
| Not Actually Hiding in the Sand | Contrary to the popular myth, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand! (note: Heading; the claim is stated in full in the sentences that follow it.) |
| sprints in short bursts of up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour) | Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour) |
| maintains a steady 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) | they can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) |
| covers 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) in a single stride | Just one stride can be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long |
| Chicks can run at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour at just a month old | Ostrich chicks can run at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour) at just a month old! |
| Every other bird has three or more toes on each foot; the ostrich has two | Ostriches are the only birds that have only two toes: all other birds have three or more. |
| which San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says are there "for greater speed." | its feet have only two toes for greater speed |
| when an adult ostrich is threatened, it "attacks with a clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion." | when an adult ostrich is threatened, it attacks with a ​clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion. |
| Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand | Contrary to the popular myth, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand! |
| From a distance it can look that way | From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible. |
| an ostrich that senses danger and cannot run away flops to the ground and remains still, head and neck flat in front of it | it flops to the ground and remains still, with its head and neck flat on the ground in front of it. |
| Its pale head and neck blend in with the color of the soil, so only the body stays visible | Because the head and neck are lightly colored, they blend in with the color of the soil. From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible. (note: The 'so' joins the source's own two statements: the head and neck blend into the soil, and only the body is visible.) |
| when danger threatens an ostrich can get away pretty easily | When danger threatens, ostriches can escape pretty easily by running away. |
| It sprints in short bursts of up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour) and can maintain a steady 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour), covering 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) in a single stride | Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour), and they can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour). Just one stride can be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long |
| Chicks can run at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour at just a month old. | Ostrich chicks can run at speeds approaching 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour) at just a month old! |
| when an adult ostrich is threatened, it "attacks with a clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion." | when an adult ostrich is threatened, it attacks with a ​clawed foot that delivers a kick powerful enough to kill a lion. |
| It can also escape danger pretty easily by running away | When danger threatens, ostriches can escape pretty easily by running away. |
| An ostrich that senses danger and cannot run away drops flat and lies still, head and neck stretched along the ground in front of it | it flops to the ground and remains still, with its head and neck flat on the ground in front of it. |
| Its pale head and neck match the color of the soil, so at a distance only the body stands out, and it looks as though the head has vanished underground | Because the head and neck are lightly colored, they blend in with the color of the soil. From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible. |
| runs in short bursts of up to 70 kilometers per hour, holds a steady 50 | Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour), and they can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) (note: vibe.reason (women artists)) |
| covers 3 to 5 meters in a single stride | Just one stride can be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long (note: vibe.reason (women artists)) |

## Ostrich. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/ostrich

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tallest and heaviest bird alive | The world's tallest and heaviest bird (note: Tagline clause; the rank is claimed again in the body.) |
| Grasslands, savanna, and shrublands of southern and eastern Africa, plus deserts and open woodlands | Common ostriches are mostly found in the grasslands, savanna and shrublands of southern and eastern Africa. They are also quite capable of surviving in deserts and open woodlands. (note: stats.habitat field; the source's 'mostly' is kept in the body sentence.) |
| Leafy greens, flowering plants, roots, grasses and succulents, with occasional small animals, plus swallowed pebbles to grind food | They mainly eat leafy greens, flowering plants, roots, grasses and succulents. They also occasionally feed on fallen fruit or small animals such as mice, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers and locusts. ... they swallow sand and pebbles to help grind down food in their stomachs. (note: stats.diet field.) |
| The Fastest Thing on Two Legs | in fact, they are the fastest two-legged animals on Earth. (note: Heading; the claim is stated in full in the sentence right after it.) |
| the fastest two-legged animals on Earth | These birds are completely flightless but are incredibly swift runners due to their long, strong legs—in fact, they are the fastest two-legged animals on Earth. |
| Adult ostriches stand up to nine feet tall | a fully-grown ostrich can measure up to 9 feet tall |
| weigh between 200 and 300 pounds (90 to 136 kilograms) | Adult ostriches weigh between 200 and 300 pounds (90-136 kilograms) |
| the tallest and heaviest living bird | The world's tallest and heaviest bird |
| Those feet end in a long, sharp claw on each toe | two-toed feet ending with a long, sharp claw on each toe |
| Common ostriches are found mostly in the grasslands, savanna and shrublands of southern and eastern Africa, and can survive in deserts and open woodlands too | Common ostriches are mostly found in the grasslands, savanna and shrublands of southern and eastern Africa. They are also quite capable of surviving in deserts and open woodlands. |
| living up to 30 or 40 years in the wild and almost 70 in human care | In the wild, ostriches live up to 30-40 years. In human care, some ostriches can live for almost 70 years. |
| is completely flightless | These birds are completely flightless but are incredibly swift runners due to their long, strong legs—in fact, they are the fastest two-legged animals on Earth. |
| tags: omnivore | Ostriches are omnivores, although most of their diet is plant-based. (note: Replaces herbivore (#628), whose definition says exclusively.) |

## Lesku et al. (2011). Ostriches Sleep like Platypuses. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0023203

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Sleeps With Its Eyes Wide Open | both eyes were always open though without movement (note: Blockquote lead-in; the claim is stated in full in the sentence that follows it.) |
| In deep slow-wave sleep, an ostrich typically sits motionless with both eyes open | During SWS, ostriches typically sat motionlessly with their necks held periscopically above the ground; both eyes were always open though without movement |
| looking more like an alert bird than a sleeping one | an ostrich in SWS did not look like a typical sleeping animal and instead gave the impression of an alert bird |
| Only when it shifts into REM sleep do its eyes close | bilateral eye closure was observed only in conjunction with REM sleep (note: 'Only' is the paper's own word: eyes stay open in wakefulness and in SWS.) |
| its head droop | The transition from SWS to REM sleep was marked by bilateral eye closure, rapid eye movements, and a forward falling head |
| those episodes can last up to five minutes, the longest reported for any bird | could last up to 5 min (2.3±0.9 min, mean maximum ± s.e.m.), the longest reported for any bird. |

## Smith et al. (2006). Muscle architecture and functional anatomy of the pelvic limb of the ostrich (Struthio camelus). Journal of Anatomy.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00658.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A dissection study of ten ostriches | The pelvic limbs of ten ostriches were dissected |
| the leg's greatest force-generating capacity in the muscles that extend the ankle | the highest capacity for force generation was observed in the extensors of the ankle |
| many of them in series with long tendons and so "functionally suited to elastic energy storage" | [muscles] were also in series with long tendons and thus were functionally suited to elastic energy storage. (note: "stretching and recoiling like springs" glosses elastic energy storage, and adds nothing the term does not mean.) |

## Struthio camelus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T45020636A280828427.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-2.rlts.t45020636a280828427.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |