This year 1 month, we introduced a long-legged animal-Emu [ér miáo]. Although they look very similar to today's protagonist (strasser O Camillus), objectively speaking, their kinship is not too close.

If we must find common ground in them, I believe it should be … edible! Delicious! Roast, stew, make meatballs, string, boil, rinse, and eat whatever you want! As for the similarity in appearance, you can review it in Emu's article. Let's get down to business-

How to take care of ostriches ... (no! )

Do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

There is a widespread rumor about ostriches-when they are in danger, they will bury their heads in the sand and pretend not to see or hear. As a result, some people began to use "ostrich" to describe those who pretend to turn a blind eye, listen but not hear, and take an evasive attitude after encountering difficulties. However, I believe that the person who first fabricated this myth should have never seen an ostrich or been to the place where the ostrich lives.

Ostrich is a very representative animal in Africa, and their habitat is mostly grassland, desert or desert terrain. Among them, the surface of grassland and desert is mainly solid soil, and the sand in the desert is actually quite solid-if you haven't practiced iron sand palm, don't think about how deep a claw can be inserted. Students who are interested and qualified can go to the seaside to find a beach, pick a slightly dry place, and try to poke their hands straight to the ground-if you keep your fingers, I will lose ... Obviously, when threatened, it is not the ostrich that can immediately plunge its head into the ground, but the chicken. Besides, if you have time to dig a hole and bury your head, you might as well run.

Although ostriches are big, look strong, and have a hard and broad beak that is very suitable for digging, they are still birds, and their overall skeleton structure still retains many "lightweight" features. In particular, the head with a large number of cavities is actually not very strong, and it can't bear such a big impact when it goes underground. ...

So, how did this myth first form? This is explained by the ostrich's diet and foraging habits.

Besides various plants, the main components of ostrich diet also include various small insects, reptiles, mammals and so on. -and these staple foods are distributed or moved near the ground, which leads the ostrich to keep its head close to the ground as much as possible when foraging, and search for prey in all directions with huge eyes and broad vision. Obviously, this posture of looking for food head down should be the root cause of being mistaken for "burying your head in the soil".

It has deadly long legs.

After solving a strange Oracle, we turned our attention back to the ostrich. If there is anything particularly eye-catching and remarkable about them, I believe it must be the long legs envied by many people.

The ostrich's leg can be said to be a very interesting example of evolution-if you want to make an analogy, the ostrich's leg structure is the most similar to that of a horse in mammals. Both of them perfectly realize the combination of leg shape and "running" function with extremely simple structure and efficient tendon layout.

In order to adapt to land life, ostriches have evolved very long legs with extremely thick muscles, leaving only two toes on each foot. Among them, the inner toe is thick, and there is a thickened meat pad, which can effectively absorb the vibration generated when running at high speed, just like wearing a sports shoe with air cushion for shock absorption; At the same time, widening and thickening the meat pad can effectively increase the contact area with the ground and prevent the ostrich's heavy body from falling into the sand when running on the sand. However, the smaller toes on the outside have almost degenerated, so the ostrich will not touch the ground when running. Only when the ostrich keeps standing, the outer toe can provide it with an extra support point, which can keep balance and reduce the burden.

Such a pair of long legs can make the ostrich accelerate to 50km/h when running and keep sprinting for a long time. Its speed and endurance are enough for it to escape from many predators. However, even if you can't run away, such a pair of legs full of explosive force are also very terrible weapons, and there are sharp claws at the front of your toes. There has been a record of kicking an African lion directly with one foot.

Therefore, I would like to remind you that although ostriches have a good temper, compared with emus and American ostriches, they are quite irritable, and male ostriches in courtship and brooding period are very aggressive. In addition, ostriches in captivity sometimes feel anxious. In this case, those who approach and chase them rashly must consider their own flying skills or admiralty iron shirts. For those who can't beat the lion with both legs and the iron with their abdominal muscles, I suggest that it is safer to keep a safe distance …

Male ostriches can hatch eggs. Nice!

Ostrich has long eyelashes, big eyes, black feathers with white edges (it looks like Lolita's skirt with black lace edges! I feel very suitable for making a big-eyed black skirt.

But! Before I start my fantasy, let me remind you-beautiful ostriches, they look like black dresses with white lace ... all men! The female ostrich's feathers are very simple gray-brown, in the shape of a pointed brother.

Of course, it is not new among birds that males are more beautiful than females. After all, most females have to shoulder the important task of incubating eggs. If the female's coat color is too bright and exaggerated, it is easy to be found by natural enemies, and then even birds will bring eggs to the nest.

But then again, the above does not seem to be particularly suitable for ostriches-because male ostriches also play a very important role in the process of hatching eggs and brooding. An ostrich is a polygamous animal. Usually, a male ostrich can mate with many females in the mating season, and these females will lay eggs in the same "nest" prepared by the male ostrich in advance. Subsequently, the male individual and a dominant female hatch in turn, and even when the female holds the nest, the male ostrich will be responsible for the nearby vigilance work.

As for why male ostriches are so devoted to incubating eggs and brooding? There is no exact explanation at present, but there are two reasonable inferences.

First, because of the "polygamy" marriage system, not all the eggs in the same nest are descendants of the female individual who is responsible for incubating the eggs. Under special circumstances, it is likely to choose to give up those eggs that were not laid by itself and concentrate on incubating its own flesh and blood. But for male ostriches-this nest is full of their own flesh and blood, so under the premise of ensuring the survival of future generations to the greatest extent, male ostriches will naturally treat all eggs and chicks equally and take care of them.

Secondly, because ostriches are completely birds, there are not many hiding places where they usually live (but think about it carefully, can an ostrich of that size really hide something from being discovered when it holds its nest), and the ostrich in incubation period must always be alert to the sneak attack of various natural enemies (such as vultures, lions, hyenas, etc.). Therefore, if stronger and more intimidating males are responsible for hatching eggs, eggs and chicks can be better protected and the survival rate of offspring can be improved.

Based on this, males with darker fur and whiter skirts are obviously healthier and stronger, so they will also become the target of females. By the way, although the ostrich's tail is short, people will open the screen.

Finally, I want to say one more thing.

As mentioned at the beginning, ostrich is an edible animal, which is delicious and can be eaten in many ways. Moreover, ostrich eggs are also good ingredients and raw materials for handicrafts, and ostrich hair is also a good raw material for textiles and handicrafts. As a fairly good economic poultry, ostriches can be kept in captivity more maturely. How does an ostrich eat? Last year, I also sent out recipes for table species! Poke here directly)

However, compared with their relative emus, ostriches need more room to move, and the ratio of feed to meat is relatively low. At the same time, ostriches are not as docile as emus, and they are easily stimulated and fidgety, and the feed should be provided with a considerable amount of calcium and protein sources.

If the above points are not met, ostriches may be deformed (neck bending, rickets, etc. ), dull coat color, abnormal behavior (plucking, shaking your head, etc. ), and even quite aggressive. So on the whole, they are not such economic animals.

Therefore, I sincerely hope that even animals raised for food will get the dignity they deserve at least before they become delicious food on our table.

This article is the 266th article in the third year of the Species Calendar, from the author @ Wingwolf Elang.

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There are many species with long legs this year.

Today's ostrich, convex and concave and lovely emu.

Elegant secretary bird, vulture, fox-like maned wolf

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