Ostrich - Struthio camelus

The Ostrich is the largest member of the Ratite family and the largest living bird, growing to a massive 2 metres tall and weighing as much as 150 kg.

These giants are found across large parts of Africa where they mainly feed on seeds, shrubs, grass, fruit, flowers and small insects.

They are the fastest running bird and are among the 25 fastest of all land animals, a essential adaptation for a bird that can't fly but shares it's home with Lions, Cheetah and many other large predators.

Ostriches also have the record for the largest egg of any bird but while the ostrich may lay the world’s largest egg, it is actually the smallest in proportion to its size at just 2% of her body weight.

Like all Raties, Ostriches cannot fly but that doesn't mean their wings are useless, they use them for balance and to help steer while running and Male Ostriches use them for elaborate displays to attract a mate.

Questions
- Ostriches are the fastest running bird but how fast can they run?
- Ostrich feathers are useless for flight but that doesn't make them useless... What are they good for? - Clue Ostriches live in hot countries.
- How many toes does an Ostrich have?
- How many eggs do ostriches lay?
- Which African Predators hunt Ostriches?

Things to consider colouring your Ostrich

You'll need black, grey, browns & pinks to colour these... remember if you don't have all the colours you need, you can mix other colours to get the ones you want.

Start light and build the colour up, if you start too dark too soon, you can't add any more.

TIP 
Practise mixing your colours on a separate sheet of paper first so that you know what to expect when you move to colouring the real thing.

Extra challenge
There are no chicks in this picture... maybe add a few of your own

- Get your image