Why the ostrich doesn't fly. The reasons why the ostrich cannot fly. Ostrich lifestyle and nutrition

Municipal educational institution

"The main secondary school of the village of Vostochny

Ivanteevsky district of the Saratov region "

Association "Young biologist - ecologist"

RESEARCH

on the topic: "Why the ostrich does not fly"

Completed: 3rd grade student

Panyukova Alexandra

Supervisor -

Primary school teacher

Panyukova Olga Vasilievna

1. Annotation ………………………………………………………………… 3

2. Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 4

3. Acquaintance with ostriches ……………………………………………… .. 4

4. Is the ostrich protected? .......................................... .................... 7

5. Why can't an ostrich fly? .......................................... ......................... eight

6. What other birds cannot fly? ......................................... ...................10

Kazaur

Penguins

Parrots

Other…

7. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 12

8. List of used literature ……………………………………… 13

Appendix 1. Fairy tale by T. Kryukova "Why can't an ostrich fly?" .. 14

annotation

Relevance of the topic:

expansion of knowledge about the life of the ostrich. Environmental self-education.

Not all of our peers know which birds cannot fly and for what reason. It is very useful and interesting to know about the birds that live in our area.

The purpose of this work: reveal why the ostrich cannot fly

First, we developed the main stages of our work and set ourselves the following questions and tasks :

1. Acquaintance with ostriches.

5. Gathering information about different types of birds;

Expansion of horizons in the field of knowledge about the world around;

Prove the need to preserve the surrounding nature, namely, representatives of the class of birds.

Putting forward a hypothesis. What could be the expected answer?

Ostriches are very heavy birds.

An object: birds of various types.

Research base: collected documentary and photographic material, scientific and educational literature.

Methods: search, analysis, excursion, observation, generalization.

Product: research work, photographs.

Introduction.

This bird is anywhere!

Never flies

It only runs like the wind.

The bird knows everything in the world.

Once during a class hour we played the game "Scrabble". Among the many topics was the theme of animals. There were various questions and tasks about fish, animals, insects, birds. I was interested in this question "What bird can't fly?" and which birds are protected. There were many options: a penguin, an ostrich, and parrots ... And I thought about this question "Why does an ostrich not know how to fly?" At the end of the lesson, I asked this question to the teacher. In response, she read to us a fairy tale by Tamara Kryukova "Why can't an ostrich fly?" (Appendix 1, audio recording). But this, of course, is a fairy tale ...

Then I set a goal: to find information about birds that cannot fly, namely ostriches; find out what is the reason and which birds are included in the Red Book. I asked the teacher to tell us about these birds. We found information on the Internet, visited the village library, read encyclopedias. On her page in "Odnoklassniki" in the status she indicated the question "Why can't an ostrich fly?" Friends gave basically the same answer, but in different ways. Dad (he works as a veterinarian) took me and my brothers on an excursion to the village of Mirny to the farm of ARMAN LLC to see and observe the habits of these wonderful and amazing birds. Our guide was a veterinarian Rudenko Yaroslav, who told us a lot of interesting things, showed ostrich eggs, even watched how the ostriches were dancing.

1. Acquaintance with ostriches.

Ostrich

D. Azimkhan

The ostrich stuck its head in the sand

Why did he do it?

Maybe this is how he decided to run away

From ostrich problems?

Maybe sneezing, he stumbled into the sand,

In order not to make a lot of noise?

Or so that no one would hear

How can he not sing?

Maybe he eats worms there?

Maybe this is how ostriches sleep?

Maybe he can't see without glasses at all?

We must ask the guys!

They told me that he hid in the sand

He's deep in his head just because he scared him

Wild brown elephant!

Dad said:

“What other people's words

Better to always check!

Ostrich head

Hiding in the sand

To drive away the bugs! "

[ › ]

Plants are the usual food for ostriches - shoots, flowers, seeds, fruits, but on occasion they also eat small animals - insects (locusts), reptiles, rodents and the remains of predators' meals. Young birds eat only animal food. Asphodilum roots quench the ostriches' thirst for 5-6 days when there is no water. Ostriches can drink brackish water in the absence of fresh water, although they prefer fresh water. Ostrich eggs are the largest of all bird eggs, and their yolk is one huge cage. Adult ostriches are dangerous even for large predators - one blow from their strong leg armed with a hard claw is enough to seriously injure or kill a lion. There are cases when males, defending their territory, attacked people. Since ostriches have no teeth, they swallow small pebbles to grind food in their stomachs, and often everything that they come across: nails, pieces of wood, iron, plastic, etc. If a hyena or other predator threatens small ostriches, an adult male can put on a whole show, pretending to be wounded. He runs in a zigzag fashion and, like a wounded man, falls to the ground. An interested hyena switches attention and rushes after this easy prey until the ostrich rises from the ground and runs from the astonished predator as fast as it can. Meanwhile, the ostriches are running under the wing to other adult ostriches. The wingspan of an ostrich reaches two meters (7 feet). Ostriches use their wings during mating rituals and to protect their ostriches. The beautiful flight and tail feathers of ostriches have long been in demand - they were used to make fans, fans and plumes of headdresses.

2. Is the ostrich protected?

Since ancient times, people have shown an increased interest in this amazing bird, and have used it for entertainment. Drawings of ostriches dating back to the fifth millennium are found in the caves of prehistoric hunters. Ancient Chinese chroniclers write that the rulers of the Celestial Empire often received precious ostrich eggs as a gift, which were kept in treasuries. The Assyrians considered the ostrich a sacred bird, and among the ancient Egyptians it was a symbol of justice, because only ostrich feathers have fans of the same width on both sides of the rod. Any other bird feather has one narrow and one wide fan, and the shaft separates them unequally. In the Middle Ages, men and women loved to decorate their hats with ostrich feathers, and knights attached sultans from the multi-colored feathers of this bird to their helmets. Already in those days, the fashion of the life of thousands of ostriches was on the conscience. The Arabs and Tuaregs hunted, chasing birds on horseback. When ostriches fell from exhaustion, they were killed, plucked, their feathers were sold, and the meat was eaten.

South American Bushmen hunted ostriches like this: with the help of ostrich feathers, hunters are like the subject of their hunt, imitate their gait, approach live ostriches within an arrow's flight distance and kill them. Bushmen collected huge bird eggs, eat the contents, and use the shells as vessels for water. They bury the shell with water in the ground in certain places in the waterless desert, so the Bushmen always have a supply of water, and in the Kalahari desert it is a matter of life and death. Interestingly, the shells of ostrich eggs were used as cups by the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians and Romans.

With the arrival of whites and the advent of firearms in South Africa, ostriches, like zebras, rhinos and antelopes, were exterminated in the thousands. When inXIXcentury, ostrich feathers became fashionable again, the position of birds became menacing. Professional hunters organized huge raids, shooting ostriches became widespread. The number of victims was numbered in the millions. To meet the ever-growing demand for ostrich feathers, first in Algeria, and then in southern Africa, they began to create ostrich farms. On farms, feathers were cut from males and females for eight months, the break was made only for the mating season. But the fashion for ostrich feathers quickly passed, and birds began to be used for ostrich races: either they were harnessed to two-wheeled carts, or riders sat on them like on horses. However, such races did not become widespread. Now ostriches are bred in more than 50 countries around the world (including countries with cold climates, such as Sweden), but most of their farms are still concentrated in South Africa., and ostriches are bred mainly for their thin skin, from which gloves, wallets and other things are made.

3. Why can't an ostrich fly?

So why don't ostriches fly? Here's why! They are too large, the bird can fly if its weight does not exceed 20 kg, and ostriches weigh 120 kg.

Ostriches do not fly, but they run fast.

In ostriches, the sternum is flat, without a keel. In flying birds, muscles are attached to it, which set in motion the flapping wings. In ostriches, these muscles are underdeveloped. Flight and tail feathers have been reduced or turned into adornments suitable only for mating games. There are no air cavities in the bones, except for the femurs, apteria, and the coccygeal gland. These and other transformations of bones, muscles and feathers have been produced by evolution for the reason that ostriches have long ceased to fly: they are too heavy to fly. Some researchers believe that they never flew, but descended from ancient birds that have not yet adapted to flight. But many anatomical features of ostriches speak convincingly: their ancestors flew. In preglacial times, ostriches lived in southeastern Europe, northern India and China. The bones of seven to eight extinct ostrich species were found here. African ostriches hundreds of thousands of years ago, and possibly later, lived in the south of Ukraine and further east to Mongolia. In Syria and Arabia, they were exterminated quite recently.
African ostriches have two toes, other ostriches have three, and kiwis have four.
African ostriches (males up to three meters tall, weighing 150 kilograms) now live only in East and South Africa, Mauritania and the Spanish Sahara. Whether they are found in the Sahara to the east is unknown.
American ostriches, or rhea. Two species: great rhea (height - 150 - 170 centimeters, weight - 25 - 50 kilograms, lives south of the Amazon basin to the Rio Negro in central Argentina) and Darwin's rhea (highlands of the Andes of Bolivia and southern Peru, plains of southern Argentina) ...
Archaeologists Layard and Ormuzd Rassam have excavated the hills on the banks of the Tigris. The twenty-meter thickness of the earth hid an ancient wall beneath it. In width - 40 bricks, 10 meters, in height - 100 bricks, 24 meters. The wall "which throws back enemies with its terrible radiance."
Behind the wall was the ancient city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria during the reign of the rabid king Sinacherib and his descendants. There is a palace in the city, "which has no equal in the world." There is a library in the palace. It contains thirty thousand "volumes", clay tablets. On the tablets - the legend of Gilgamesh, "who is two-thirds god, one-man," the oldest poem on earth and one of the best in the entire literary history of mankind.
And among the tablets, various utensils and other everyday things that had not decayed for two and a half thousand years, we found strange objects that are directly related to our story. It looks like the vessels and it looks like they are made of stone: round, open at one end. It was as if the sharp top of the egg had been cut off and a vessel turned out. But what an egg! It would fit thirty chicken.
We carefully examined these vessels, and it became clear: they were made from the shell of ostrich eggs. This is the first answer to the question of what an ostrich is good for.
The Romans, according to their custom, dragged ostriches along with hippos, lions, elephants and other unfortunate animals to the circus arena and killed there for the amusement of the public. They could not think of a better application for ostriches.

[ ]

4. What other birds can't fly?

Cassowary

Cassowaries are quite peaceful birds if they are not disturbed, but when attacked, cassowaries defend themselves desperately with the help of their powerful paws: their claws are a rather dangerous weapon. Look at the picture. Cassowaries know how not only to run, but also to swim perfectly.

Cassowaries eat fruits, mushrooms, snails, snakes, frogs.

This is interesting: the stomach of Cassowaries digests nails, and even stones, and like camels they drink a lot of water.

Penguins

Penguins are birds that cannot fly, but they swim great. Penguins used to fly, but more often hiding from enemies, they hid under water and gradually their wings lost their feathers and turned into fins.

N
but this is not all that these birds can surprise us with. I eat three times a day, and penguins may not eat for up to three months. A person cannot live without air, and penguins can not breathe for almost 18 minutes. How interesting!

Penguins live in large groups - families. Dad and mom penguins work as fishermen, fish, and take their children to kindergarten. There they play with them and protect petrels from large birds, and on the water from sharks, dolphins and fur seals.

Penguins live at the South Pole in Antarctica.

Parrots

Among the parrots, there are also non-flying birds.

TO the akapo, or owl parrot, is the only parrot that has forgotten how to fly. He lives only in New Zealand, he had no enemies around him and he did not need to hide or fly away. Kakapo lives in burrows. In it, he spends the whole day and only after sunset does he leave from there to go in search of food - plants, seeds and berries. But now these birds are under state protection, because with the arrival of man in these areas, man brought domestic animals. Cats, dogs and rats began to hunt parrots, and greatly exterminated them.

The Kakapo parrots are the longest-living birds on earth, with an average lifespan of 95 years.

Other…

The small Kiwi bird also lives in New Zealand and is protected by the state. She has no wings at all.

Takahe is a flightless bird living in the Alpine meadows.

The Dodo birds that lived on the islands of the Indian Ocean were out of luck. People hunted them for delicious meat, and pigs ate eggs. Currently, not a single Dodo remains. The species disappeared.

Conclusion.

So, let's conclude: there are flightless birds on earth.

But why don't they fly?

They are large in size and body weight.

Because of the predators, the birds were more swimming than flying.

There were no predators and no need for birds to fly.

4. there were no predators among people, there would be more birds.

Birds are dear to us not only for the great benefits they bring, but also as an adornment of our wonderful Motherland. We need to protect them. To protect and increase the wealth of all nature, so that our entire planet is a beautiful, huge garden.

Let's keep the planet safe
There is no similar one in the whole universe,
Let's strive for that
To be loved by both the beast and the bird.

List of used literature:

Brave V.M. School atlas-guide to birds: Book. For students. - M .: Education, 1988.

I get to know the world. Birds: Children's Encyclopedia. / V.V. Ivanitsky. - M .: OOO "AST Publishing House", 2001.

Mikheev A.V. "Keys to bird nests" - M., 1975

Tsvetkov A.V. "Observations of bird nests" - No. 22, 1998

Tamara Kryukova

Fairy tale "WHY OSTRICH CANNOT FLY"

A long time ago, when birds still did not know how to fly, the Creator sent them wings for every taste and color as a gift, so that each one would choose the ones that she liked. The birds were delighted.

The first to appear was the Eagle.

I want to soar above the ground above everyone else and build nests on mountain slopes so that my chicks grow fearless and strong, ”he said, choosing two wide strong wings.

The Lark came running next.

And I want to fly so high that the rising sun could hear me singing a hymn in his honor, ”he chirped enthusiastically and found two light and fast wings.

I do not argue that height is good, but the most important thing in wings is endurance, so that you can fly around the world, look at others and show yourself. What a joy it is to sit in one place all year round, ”said Crane, pacing slowly.

He immediately looked at the modest but reliable wings and, without wasting words, set off on his first flight.

Fashionista-Swallow tried on for a long time and meticulously examined

different wings, still not deciding on which to stop.

I would like to fly high in the sky on clear days, and stay close to the ground in bad weather. In addition, one should not forget about appearance. The wings should be graceful.

Then the Swallow noticed two thin curved wings and immediately

realized that they were made for her.

She thinks correctly about her appearance, ”the parrot nodded in agreement. - The main thing is that the wings should be bright. What a joy it is to rush under the clouds, where no one can really see you? It's another matter when the wings are catchy, prominent: you fly, and everyone envies you.

The parrot immediately grabbed hold of the most colorful wings and, proud of his acquisition, went home.

The owl looked after him and shook its head reproachfully.

Pampering is beauty. Empty bragging. The wings should be inconspicuous so that you can fly over the forest and look out for prey, and if you can be seen a mile away, you will not die of hunger for long.

Soon the birds took all the wings apart and only two pairs remained: some larger and others tiny. Sparrow, the famous fool, galloped up: the sun has been hot for a long time, but he just ripped his eyes. He looked at the wings and immediately chose the larger ones.

I need a swing, - he said and let's fit the wings.

Yes, they turned out to be too big, they covered the poor fellow with their heads, what kind of flight is there. He tried on the smaller ones, swung them, took off and chirped cheerfully. These are just right - light, comfortable, fly from branch to branch and rejoice.

The last to come was the Ostrich. I looked around, but there was nothing to choose. He put on the wings that were left, tried to take off - but it wasn’t there. He himself is large, overweight, and the wings are small. The Ostrich looked at the sky, and there the Eagle soars, much smaller than him, and spread his wings, which are huge, like a cloth. Out of indignation, Ostrich stamped his feet and shouted:

There they are my wings! I will tell the whole world that the Eagle, the robber, is coveting someone else's!

The wise Raven looked at him and said:

What are you stupid screaming? Is it the Eagle's fault that you appeared later than everyone else? It is not for nothing that folk wisdom says: "Whoever gets up early, God gives to him."

Ostrich felt ashamed that he hesitated. He lowered his head downcast, took the remaining wings and wandered away, because he could not take off. Yes, only God took pity on him and endowed him with another gift. Since then, the Ostrich has learned to run surprisingly fast.

Ostriches are non-flying birds, but at the same time they have powerful two-meter wings.

Why nature has deprived them of the opportunity to climb into the sky and in return awarded them with well-developed muscular and strong legs, let's figure it out together.

Why the ostrich doesn't fly: reasons

In the animal world, wild ostriches have an enviable survival rate. Living in African shrouds, they are constantly attacked by hungry predators and flee from them, thanks to their ability to run quickly. In an hour, these birds develop a speed of up to 70 kilometers, which not every four-legged mammal can do. For comparison, sprinters only cover 30 kilometers per hour during cross-country competitions.

Did you know? In their natural environment, ostriches consider hyenas and jackals to be their worst enemies, which destroy birds' nests. Only chicks suffer from lions, tigers and other felines, since they cannot overcome adults.

And when danger comes close, powerful wings come to the rescue. Although they are not able to lift the bird up, they allow, without reducing the speed, to carry out a sharp change of direction. After such maneuvers of a potential prey, the predator, exhausted by the chase, will need time to recuperate.

Zoologists have been trying to solve the mystery of the phenomenon of huge ostrich wings for a long time. And today they have explanations why ostriches are unable to fly. Let's consider the main reasons.

The structure of the sternum

The first factor that excludes the possibility of flights of these giant birds is the physiological structure of their chest. When compared with other birds, it becomes obvious that there is no specific outgrowth called the keel. By studying bird skeletons, botanists have noted the flatness of the ostrich chest. This means that the pectoral muscles have nothing to attach to.

Did you know? Ostrich legs are a killer weapon. For comparison, a horse's hoof kick is rated at 20 kg per square centimeter, and an ostrich paw kick― in 30 kg! Such a force easily bends an iron rod one and a half centimeters thick and breaks human bones.

The keel is present not only in flying birds. Its presence has also been found in some digging animals that have muscular, highly developed forelimbs. Examples of such representatives of the fauna are moles, which also do not fly.
And this happens because in birds and flying mice, this part of the body is characterized by a special structure. Botanists even single out a separate group of so-called "keel", which includes individuals with a well-developed thoracic outgrowth.

Did you know? Ostriches have no teeth. To grind and digest food, these birds swallow everything that comes their way: pieces of wood, small pebbles, nails, debris of plastic, iron parts.

A feature of the functionality of the bone keel located in the thoracic region is:

• strengthening the sternum;
• protection of vital organs;
• the possibility of fastening the muscular corset, involved in the movements of the forelimbs or wings;
• the mobility of the thoracic skeleton, which affects the depth and frequency of breathing;
• the ability to change the trajectory during flight.

In the absence of this bone process, ostriches are deprived of all the listed privileges. But nature compensated for the bird's lack by giving them strong legs.

Underdeveloped musculature

The second reason why ostriches are deprived of the opportunity to soar in the sky stems from the physiological characteristics of their skeleton. Since there is no bone outgrowth in it for fastening the muscles actively involved in movements, the soft fibers present are very weak. In addition, due to the nuances of the structure, they can no longer develop. And only strong, strong muscles attached to the keel can guarantee flight and a good wingspan.

Important! A farmer who deals with ostriches should always be on the lookout. After all, feathered wards, although they remember their breadwinner well, react very aggressively to sudden movements. That is why many breeders try to protect themselves from unforeseen bird aggression with primitive scarecrows that they tie to themselves. The main thing is that the height of this structure exceeds the growth of the feathered one. Then, guided by the principle "who is higher is more important", the pet will respectfully react even to the raised hand of the owner.

Moreover, on underdeveloped ostrich wings, the plumage is characterized by a primitive structure. The feathers of this bird, including the flight and tail feathers, are curly and loose. They look more like fluff. Botanists explain this nuance by the absence of joints between the barbs, which is an obstacle to the formation of dense fan plates.
Since ostriches lack a keel, and with it the protection of vulnerable internal organs, a kind of compacted callus has formed on the surface of the sternum. It acts as a support when the bird lies on the ground.

Too heavy weight

The third factor affecting the impossibility of flying ostriches is their heaviness. In the range, mature females with a height of 2.7 meters weigh about 100 kg, and well-fed males - in the range of 135-150 kg. Massive two-toed legs also add weight to the birds. They differ from other winged individuals not only by their excessive thickness, length, but also by their internal structure.

Important! To distinguish a female from a male, it is enough to look at the bird's plumage. In "girls" it is grayish-brown on the body, and off-white on the tail and wings. "Boys" are brighter in appearance and are characterized by a black color with pure white edging on the wings and tail.

Scientists have found that the tubular bones of the flying fauna are very light, and their composition is saturated with lime salt. It's different with ostriches. Their bone tissue is completely devoid of air cavities, with the exception of the thighs.
In the course of evolution, due to the underdevelopment of the wings, the load on the hind limbs increased. As a result, the ends of the pubic bones fused together and formed a closed pelvis, which is not typical for flying birds. In addition, one of the ostrich toes has a small "hoof" that functions as a support. The fused bones began to grow stronger and develop.

Did ostriches fly before: bird evolution

Little is known about the history of the origin of giant flightless birds. Modern ornithologists-systematists and evolutionists put forward two radically different versions of their appearance. According to the first, all ostrich-like living creatures originate from the middle of the Cenozoic, developing on different continents, regardless of their ancestors. And the adherents of the second theory argue that the birds of this series have one ancestor, which existed along with dinosaurs during the Mesozoic period. Genetic research also supports this theory.

Scientists believe that this ancient ancestor of all ostrich species is the now extinct bird of the litornithiformes, which lived about 55 million years ago. Her fossils have been found in Europe and North America. Consequently, ostriches originally had the ability to fly. It was in this way that they spread to all continents of the globe.

Many people still ask the question: an ostrich is a bird or an animal, and why do ostriches not fly and do they really hide their heads in the ground or sand in times of danger? This article will provide answers to such questions, as well as talk about the lifestyle of ostriches, their nutrition and reproduction.

Ostriches in the international space have the name Struthio camelus, appropriated this term in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Karl Linnaeus.

Ostriches are a bird, which has lost its characteristic feature to fly, in science such a feature is referred to as a ratite feature. Translated from Greek, an ostrich is a camel sparrow.

In the scientific classification, this bird is characterized and referred to:

• to the eukaryote domain;
• to the animal kingdom;
• to the chordate type;
• to the class of birds;
• to the detachment of ostrich-like;
• to the ostrich family;
• to the genus of ostriches;
• to the kind of ostriches.

Based on the above classification, the answer to the question: "Is an ostrich a bird or an animal?" - serves class to which this creature belongs.

Description of the bird

These birds have a very dense constitution and a small flattened head. The beak looks straight and flat, there is a fatal claw on the upper beak. They have large eyes and thick eyelashes on the upper eyelid. The wings of ostrich birds are not fully developed and, as noted earlier, these birds can't fly... They have no keel and poorly developed pectoral muscles. Their skeleton is not pneumatic, except for the femur.

Characteristics of the Hissar breed of sheep, the largest rams

These birds strong and long hind legs, on each foot there are two toes, which end in either claws or spurs, and on one of the toes there is a hoof similar to a "horny hoof." Thanks to this, individuals are able to lean on it while running.

Ostriches are the largest modern birds:

1. The average height can reach up to 270 centimeters.
2. the average weight of an individual reaches 156 kilograms.

The bird has curly and loose plumage, which is evenly distributed throughout the body, except for the hips, neck and head. And also there is a bare area of ​​skin on the bird's chest, which is a corn on which the bird rests when it lies down.

Due to the fact that the beards of the plumage are not interlocked with each other, the bird does not have dense fan plates. An adult male has black plumage with a white tail and wings, and females have a more monotonous, grayish-brown color, with an off-white transition to the tail and wings.

Ostrich lifestyle and nutrition

These birds live in semi-deserts and open savannas located south and north of the forest zone of the equator. Usually these birds live in small flocks, and in some cases in families. The family of ostriches can consist of a male, five females and their chicks. They can often graze with animals such as antelopes or zebras, sometimes migrating along the plains with them. Feathered has excellent eyesight and can be the first to notice impending danger from predatory animals.

Description and features of the dominant chicken breed

In case of poultry hazards fleeing to save their lives... The average speed that an adult can develop can reach 70 kilometers per hour with strides 3-4 meters long. Already at the age of one month, young ostriches develop speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour.

And also ostriches have the ability change the direction of your run, without slowing down, thanks to this, predatory animals can quickly stop pursuit.

The usual diet for adults consists of shoots and fruits. plants, seeds, different colors, but also ostriches can eat small animals such as locusts, various reptiles, rodents and the remains of uneaten meals of predators. Young individuals consume only food of animal origin.

Birds in captivity can eat per day up to four kilograms of food per day... Due to the lack of teeth, they cannot grind food and for this they swallow small stones, but it happens that they can swallow various pieces of wood and iron, plastics, nails and the like.

There is a legend that says that when frightened, this bird can hide its head in the sand. This is due to the fact that, in case of danger, the female that incubates eggs lies on the ground and spreads the neck and head seeking to blend in with the background of the environment. In some cases, individuals can do this if they cannot escape from predatory animals.