Ostriches are the largest living species of bird in the world, reaching from seven to nine feet in height. Females average about one-hundred-and-fifty pounds, while males can top the scales at over three hundred pounds. Ostriches are also the fastest birds on land, galloping at forty-five miles per hour.
Ostrich bills, like all bird beaks, are made of bone, covered by a layer of skin, which secretes a gooey protein, that hardens into the same substance as fingernails, animal hooves, and rhinoceros horn. Ostrich bills are flat and broad, with a rounded tip. The bill measures between four-and-a-half inches to five-and-a-half inches in length.
Although ostriches are primarily vegetarians, they eat small animals and insects. To help ingest these nutritious goodies, the inside of the bill has a set of very sharp teeth.
The old man had driven the station wagon cross country. We were spending the day at Lion Country Safari, on our way from our grandparents' apartment in LA to San Diego. My sisters were in the backseat, and Bunce and I were wedged in back with the luggage, up against the tailgate.
We slowly rolled through the savannah as a clip-on radio device narrated our tour. The namesake lions mostly slept in the scant shade of palm trees, flicking their ears and swishing their tails in an effort to shoo away the swarms of flies that surrounded them. Through the car windows, the animals seemed even more removed than at the zoo.
Still active though, was the flock of ostriches that surrounded our car and began to peck at the windows. The voice told us that ostriches liked watching themselves in the glass, and reminded us to keep the windows up at all times.
As the flock roamed around the car and stared in at me and Bunce, the old man thought it would be great fun to lower the tailgate window. Bunce and I pulled back, but were boxed in by the suitcases. The ostriches ventured their bald, gray heads into the aperture and began to peck at us.
The forays were tentative, not aggressive, but being prey animals, ostriches can be fierce fighters when cornered, kicking with their powerful legs, and attacking with their bills.
Ostrich eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate. I looked into the black, two-inch diameter orbs, which helped them to see predators in the distance. I can tell you that up close and personal, these mean-looking cousins to the grilled boneless, skinless, chicken breast on your plate are scary.
The ostriches bumped us a few times on our arms and chests, but the gestures seemed playful, at least to them, and really didn't hurt.
Eventually they lost interest, as did the old man, who had been laughing like a baboon every time me and Bunce yelled for him to roll up the window.
Mankind never existed alongside the dinosaurs, but if they had, they couldn't have encountered a more prehistoric visage.
Excellent as always!
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