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Ostrich eggs and meat have been used by humans for millennia. Ostrich oil is another product that is made using ostrich fat. Ostriches are of the genus Struthio in the order Struthioniformes , part of the infra-class Palaeognathae , a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus , rheas , cassowaries , kiwis ...
Ostrich plumes were a luxury commodity in Europe for centuries, leading to serious harm to wild ostrich populations, and subsequent establishment of ostrich farms. [36] During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Plume hunting for feathers used in hats decimated bird populations, especially in the American South where egrets and spoonbills were ...
The common ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird. Males stand 2.1 to 2.75 m (6 ft 11 in to 9 ft 0 in) tall and weigh 100 to 130 kg (220 to 290 lb), whereas females are about 1.75 to 1.9 m (5 ft 9 in to 6 ft 3 in) tall and weigh 90 to 120 kg (200 to 260 lb). [20]
The two extant species of ostrich are the common ostrich and Somali ostrich, both in the genus Struthio, which also contains several species known from Holocene fossils such as the Asian ostrich. The common ostrich is the more widespread of the two living species, and is the largest living bird species.
Ostrich farming grew out of this need, and humans harvested feathers, hides, eggs, and meat from the ostrich. Emu farming also became popular for similar reasons and for their emu oil . Rhea feathers are popular for dusters, and eggs and meat are used for chicken and pet feed in South America.
Heralded as the world's largest rodents, the South American rainforest natives can actually weigh as much as a full grown man.. But despite the fact that they apparently like to eat their own dung ...
Belon's comparison of birds and humans in his Book of Birds, 1555. Early written records provide valuable information on the past distributions of species. For instance, Xenophon records the abundance of the ostrich in Assyria (Anabasis, i. 5); this subspecies from Asia Minor is extinct and all extant ostrich races are today restricted to Africa.
A human touching or handling eggs or baby birds will not cause the adult birds to abandon them. [55] The same is generally true for other animals having their young touched by humans as well, with the possible exception of rabbits (as rabbits will sometimes abandon their nest after an event they perceive as traumatizing).