The Ostrich or Common Ostrich, (Struthio camelus).
I for a short time of my life raised Ostrich for a mining company, this was on a small scale only four breeding females and two males, but it is a time of my life I will always remember. They are the strangest of birds, temperamental and cantankerous when it comes to breeding time, but a bird that can really entertain you. I lost all my photos from those days in a flood 12 years ago, when my house was under water, but I managed to capture a male doing the dance of love as I like to call it. Not the best of photos but they should give one an idea of the beauty of the dance..
The male will crouch and sway his head from side to side, extend his wings and show off his beauty… following which he will chase after the female with his wings held high… she normally just ignores him until she is ripe for the taking… then like all birds he will do the deed and start his dance again… horny guy that he is…
With their acute eyesight and hearing, Ostriches can sense predators such as lion from far away. When being pursued by a predator, they have been known to reach speeds in excess of 70 km/h (43 mph), and can maintain a steady speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), which makes the Ostrich the world’s fastest two-legged animal. When lying down and hiding from predators, the birds lay their heads and necks flat on the ground, making them appear as a mound of earth from a distance.
When threatened, Ostriches run away, but they can cause serious injury and death with kicks from their powerful legs. Their legs can only kick forward. So when ever they attacked me and I was on foot, I merely lay on the ground, they raise their chests to kick and could never quite reach me.. still scary though..
Here is what the dance looks like…and you can see her in the back ground just ignoring him…
Notice how she just continues to ignore him and continues eating… typical female makes him work hard…
And then for the show of his size and stature… the wings up position…
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 