Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The North African ostrich, [1] red-necked ostrich, or Barbary ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) is the nominate subspecies of the common ostrich from West and North Africa. It has the largest average size among the subspecies of ostriches, making it the largest living bird .
North African ostrich (S. c. camelus), also known as the red-necked ostrich or Barbary ostrich: Lives in North Africa. Historically it was the most widespread subspecies, ranging from Ethiopia and Sudan in the east throughout the Sahel [37] to Senegal and Mauritania in the west, and north to Egypt and southern Morocco, respectively.
The Somali ostrich occurs in the Horn of Africa, having evolved isolated from the common ostrich by the geographic barrier of the East African Rift. In some areas, the common ostrich's Masai subspecies occurs alongside the Somali ostrich, but they are kept from interbreeding by behavioral and ecological differences. [15]
The African ostrich is the largest living ratite. A large member of this species can be nearly 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) tall, weigh as much as 156 kilograms (344 lb), [ 18 ] and can outrun a horse. Of the living species, the Australian emu is next in height, reaching up to 1.9 metres (6 ft 3 in) tall and about 50 kilograms (110 lb). [ 18 ]
A male Somali ostrich in a Kenyan savanna, showing its blueish neck. Today ostriches are only found natively in the wild in Africa, where they occur in a range of open arid and semi-arid habitats such as savannas and the Sahel, both north and south of the equatorial forest zone. [14]
Souss-Massa also holds captive-breeding programmes for four threatened North African ungulates: scimitar oryx, addax, dama gazelle and dorcas gazelle, that are kept in separate enclosures within the park. The reintroduction of the North African ostrich - which is extinct north of the Sahara - is also underway. [7]
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds. Common ostrich, Struthio camelus (reintroduced) North African ostrich, Struthio camelus camelus (reintroduced)
These European affinities are echoed in the herpetofauna where grass snake Natrix natrix, Sahara frog Pelophylax saharicus and the European green toad Bufo viridis mixed with the African common toad Amietophrynus regularis. The North African ostrich Struthio camelus camelus occurred in this region but is now largely extirpated. [1]