How does ostrich mate

Of the females, only the major hen incubates the eggs and this she does in a shallow scrape in the ground two metres across. She lays her eight or ten eggs first and the minor hens add theirs to her collection, potentially upping the total to Many ground nesters produce cryptically coloured eggs. The ostrich parents provide the concealment.

The paler brown female incubates the eggs by day, lowering her neck and flattening herself out if threatened to resemble a rock from far. This is where the myth comes from that ostriches bury their heads. The black-feathered male takes the night shift blending in with the cover of darkness.

Breeding birds are put into breeding camps shortly after this change in the colour of the shins. The reproductive behavioural display of males is characterized by the male sitting on his hocks, and swaying from side to side, with outstretched wings alternately touching the ground.

A mating session can last 30 to 90 seconds, with the male mating several times a day with any one female. A male mounts a female from behind. The male will search for a suitable place to create a nest for the female, normally after the first mating has occurred. Though they cannot fly, ostriches are fleet, strong runners. They can sprint up to 43 miles an hour and run over distance at 31 miles an hour.

They may use their wings as "rudders" to help them change direction while running. An ostrich's powerful, long legs can cover 10 to 16 feet in a single stride.

These legs can also be formidable weapons. Ostrich kicks can kill a human or a potential predator like a lion. Each two-toed foot has a long, sharp claw. Ostriches live in small herds that typically contain less than a dozen birds. Alpha males maintain these herds, and mate with the group's dominant hen. The male sometimes mates with others in the group, and wandering males may also mate with lesser hens.

All of the group's hens place their eggs in the dominant hen's nest—though her own are given the prominent center place. The dominant hen and male take turns incubating the giant eggs, each one of which weighs as much as two dozen chicken eggs. Contrary to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. The old saw probably originates with one of the bird's defensive behaviors. At the approach of trouble, ostriches will lie low and press their long necks to the ground in an attempt to become less visible.

The average egg is 6 inches in length, 5 inches in width, weighs about 3 pounds, and is shiny and whitish in color. Eggs take approximately 35 - 40 days to hatch. The male, which has mostly black feathers, sits on the eggs at night, and the drab, brown female who lays up to 20 eggs, covers them during the day.

In this way, the nest is much harder to see. If threatened while sitting on the nest, which is simply a cavity scooped in the earth, the hen presses her long neck flat along the ground, blending with the background. Ostriches, contrary to popular belief, do not bury their heads in the sand. Once the young ones hatch, it is usually the male ostrich which looks after the chick until they are old enough to fend for themselves.