EXPLORING NATURE: OSTRICH

I have been fortunate enough to have seen both the smallest and the largest birds in the world.

I saw a bee hummingbird in Cuba an an ostrich in Africa. The hummingbird was about the size of a large bee, and weighed maybe an ounce. The ostrich was about nine feet tall and probably weighed 300 pounds.

While the little hummer was a delight to see, the ostrich is really the more interesting of the two avian species. After all, this is one big bird and it is capable of running along at 46 miles per hour. It is not a bird you want to pick a fight with.

It has exceptionally well-muscled legs and can deliver a kick of 2000 pounds per square inch, enough to kill a lion.

In the same family as the ostrich are the rhea, the cassowary and the emu, all flightless birds. You have to go back in time to find a really large bird that could also fly. The only one I know of was the giant teratorn, which lived some six million years ago in South America. It weighed 175 pounds and had a wingspan of 22 feet in length. It also needed a stiff wind in order to get and remain airborne.

The ostrich is a declining species in the wild. It is sometimes farm raised for meat and I am told it tastes a lot like beef. Maybe because, like cattle, it spends a lot of time walking and foraging on greenery.

Finally, I am told ostrich eggs weigh up to five pounds each and to soft boil a fresh egg takes about one hour. Bon appetit.