They say that ostriches burying their heads is a myth. But given today’s world??? We found this large male a mile or so away from the Cape of Good Hope, not looking particularly hopeful. (Actually, he was grazing, but burying his head makes a better story.)
Peggy and I are dropping into South Africa for today’s On Safari post where I will feature the world’s largest bird and one of its smallest penguins. We found both of these ‘superlative’ birds on a road trip to the Cape of Good Hope. As mentioned above, the ostrich was a mile or so away from the Cape. The penguins were 20 minutes away on South Africa’s False Bay.
The problem with ‘burying your head’ is that you never know where it might pop up. On the end of a long neck is a good bet. Check out the toothy grin and the big eyes. The teeth serve the ostrich in biting off its main diet of grass, leaves, and roots. The eyes provide excellent vision for spotting major predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs. I read in a National Geographic article that the ostrich’s eyes are bigger than its brains! I not sure whether that says more about an ostrich’s eyes or brain.Just about everyone knows that the ostrich is a large, flightless bird. Large means upward to 350 pounds (150 kg) and 8 feet (2.7 m) tall. The beautiful feathers on this male also suggest why ostrich feathers have been so popular for centuries. Their collection during the Victorian Era came close to threatening the species with extinction. Today’s feathers are obtained from ostrich farms where the birds are raised for them plus meat and eggs.On our way back from the Cape, our friend was next to the ocean. The question we had was ‘why did the ostrich cross the road?’The answer may be that with legs like this, he can go where he wants.He was busy chomping down the brown grass and filling his gullet.He then had to raise his head so he could swallow it.Ostriches prefer not to fight. In fact they will lie down in the grass to lower their profile and camouflage themselves. Their long legs provide two other defenses. One, they can run very fast, up to 40 miles per hour (70k) with giant strides that can cover 16 feet (5 meters) in a single stride. They also have a powerful kick, if cornered, using their big feet and 4 inch (10 centimeter) sharp claws.
We left the large ostrich behind in search of one of the world’s smaller penguins near Simon’s Town, the appropriately named African penguin. If you live in the town, it’s not unusual to find them walking down the sidewalks, crossing the streets, or digging large holes in gardens to build nests. They pretty much rule the town. Before heading down to the beach where most of them hang out, we stopped in town for lunch. We were eating when Peggy spotted one of the two-foot-fellows walking up to the door. She jumped up and snapped a photo of the penguin. I think it wanted to know if we were eating fish.
It was looking in the door with high hopes. I left lunch to photograph it from the inside of the door. Note the pink above its eyes. It actually serves a cooling function like the elephant’s ears, running blood through the pink area so it will be cooled down. The hotter it is the darker the pink, as more blood is forced through.I noticed that the feet looked like they belonged to a much bigger bird. It’s these large feet that enable the penguin to swim 12 miles per hour pursuing fish.Down at the beach, we watched a penguin walking. It was getting nowhere fast.Another penguin had said the ‘heck with it’ and was using its swimming mode! In water, BTW, they normally dive to around 100 feet. They have actually been found at over 400 feet.We saw a number of pairs. Penguins stick with their partners for years and seem quite affectionate.“If you scratch my neck, I’ll give you a stick.”True love.“Sorry I’m late, honey,”“Really sorry…”This is the type of nest you might find in your garden if you live in Simon’s Town. The penguins put guano (bird poop) on the bottom as a nesting material. There were several such holes on the beach as the penguins prepared to lay eggs and raise their chicks.A number of penguins were hanging out at the base of a huge granite boulder…While others preferred to sunbathe on the beach.While this fellow decided that scratching an itch was the best use of his time. He was using his non-flyable wings for balance. Note the spots on its chest. They are different on every penguin. A recent study has suggested that one way a penguin recognizes his/her mate when hundreds of are together is by the spots. “Excuse me but you look familiar. Can I check your spots?” That’s it for today.Peggy and I were driving out of the Everglades on Thursday when we saw a lake packed with over 200 white pelicans herding and harvesting fish. It was an amazing sight and will be the subject of our next post.
23 thoughts on “An Ostrich’s Solution to Today’s World? Plus a Town Ruled By Small Penguins…. On Safari 14”
I agree with most of your points Ammar especially as you said, consistency is the key.. but for a person who works a 9-5 job on the sideline and keeps blogging as a hobby, finding consistency is like finding a needle in a haystack, can you share some tips on how to can be efficient in managing the leftover time to write blog posts?
I did not know that ostriches have teeth!!! My mind is blown, Curt. And the little brains don’t surprise me though they seem big enough to serve the bird. And those penguins are adorable. What a treat to see them walking around town! Lol. Great pictures and captions. Thanks for the smiles, my friend. 🙂
Penguins in people’s yards reminds me of mallard ducks where I live. The females often nest somewhere on our acreage even though we are at least 1/2 mile away from water! Birds are fascinating, aren’t they!
I’ve always dreamt of long legs that could take me anywhere but I think I’ll keep mine after seeing theirs.. Amazing they have teeth.. lol Great pics and love the little penguins. ❣️
The legs are pretty humorous unless you think of one of them kicking you! Grin. And I was surprised by the teeth as well. Penguins fit cute. Not so sure about ostriches. 🙂
This was a great mashup. Reminded of a post I did way back that was about albatross and yellow-eyed penguins in NZ. The African penguins are almost identical to the Magellanic penguins we saw in southern Patagonia.
Ostriches are fabulous birds aren’t they!
Alison
Mashup seems like a good word, Alison.
I don’t remember seeing any penguins the three times I was in New Zealand, and I’m sorry I missed them. They are supposed to be the smallest in the world. As for ostriches, yes they are fabulous.
It was fun for me to blog about the largest and close to smallest of flightless birds. Thanks.
I think the smallest are Fairy penguins, in Oz, though they may be in NZ too. I remember being taken to see them as a child as they returned to the beach (at dusk? a dawn?) in Port Philip Bay near Melbourne – hundreds of them. The ones we saw in NZ are quite unusual – solitary (which is unusual for penguins) and yellow-eyed.
I’ve read about the Port Philip’s Bay experience, Alison.
It’s a childhood memory – I must have been 8 maybe. I remember everyone being contained behind a fence, but with still a good view of them. Funny what sticks in your memory isn’t it.
Important things, Alison. Grin.
For some reason, it surprised me to see ostriches and water in the same photo. Apparently I thought of them as a desert bird, or at least one given to drier, sandier places. I wouldn’t want one coming after me, that’s for sure. Now, the penguins? I’m there for that overload of cuteness. And I must say, there are days when I feel like I’m swimming in sand!
My first encounter with a wild ostrich was in Tanzania back in 67, Linda. They mainly hang out in the drier savannah areas of eastern and southern Africa. Have you seen the movie Jumanji where the flock of ostriches comes charging across the desert? Penguins are cute. I’ve never gone swimming in the sand, but I can certainly speak to how difficult walking through it can be!
Your photos illuminate some great details, Curt. I was noticing that not just the penguins but also the ostriches have lower appendages that seem too big. The ostrich legs look the same size as their necks. Like the others said, I had no idea that ostriches had teeth! Or that penguins sunbathed. How vulnerable the penguins seem with flightless wings that hang at their sides. All of this is fascinating, and the penguin looking in the door is funny.
I’m pretty sure if I would have opened that door, Crystal, the penguin would have walked right in. The penguins are vulnerable. In fact, this particular species is endangered. In terms of lower appendages, one certainly wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a kick by that ostrich! Long legs, long necks!
There are times I’d like to bury my head in the sand, Curt, and I love the toothy grin. I was surprised by the teeth. 🙂 Also by the fact that they don’t like to fight. And the penguins are so cute. I watched a documentary on penguins once and they live such a hard life; it was actually kind of sad. Great photos as always.
“I watched a documentary on penguins once and they live such a hard life.” Where we were in South Africa, Lauren, it was dodging great white sharks while diving for fish. Certainly nothing I would like to contend with. Total agreement on burying my head. I can manage with a good book and avoiding the news for a few days. 🙂 Unfortunately, reality creeps back in… Thanks on the photos.
Wandering through Time and Place 
I agree with most of your points Ammar especially as you said, consistency is the key.. but for a person who works a 9-5 job on the sideline and keeps blogging as a hobby, finding consistency is like finding a needle in a haystack, can you share some tips on how to can be efficient in managing the leftover time to write blog posts?
Data Macau
I did not know that ostriches have teeth!!! My mind is blown, Curt. And the little brains don’t surprise me though they seem big enough to serve the bird. And those penguins are adorable. What a treat to see them walking around town! Lol. Great pictures and captions. Thanks for the smiles, my friend. 🙂
Penguins in people’s yards reminds me of mallard ducks where I live. The females often nest somewhere on our acreage even though we are at least 1/2 mile away from water! Birds are fascinating, aren’t they!
Indeed they are. And I remember you blogging about your mallards!
That toothy ostrich photo made my day! Will you mind if I save a screenshot of your photo?
Not at all. Please do. 🙂
Thank you!
The ostrich has got to be one of the weirdest looking animals in the world. Cool photos though. And the penguins are so cute!
The ostrich has that ‘put together by a committee’ look, Diana. Grin. Its feathers were magnificent, however. And yes, penguins are cute…
I’ve always dreamt of long legs that could take me anywhere but I think I’ll keep mine after seeing theirs.. Amazing they have teeth.. lol Great pics and love the little penguins. ❣️
The legs are pretty humorous unless you think of one of them kicking you! Grin. And I was surprised by the teeth as well. Penguins fit cute. Not so sure about ostriches. 🙂
This was a great mashup. Reminded of a post I did way back that was about albatross and yellow-eyed penguins in NZ. The African penguins are almost identical to the Magellanic penguins we saw in southern Patagonia.
Ostriches are fabulous birds aren’t they!
Alison
Mashup seems like a good word, Alison.
I don’t remember seeing any penguins the three times I was in New Zealand, and I’m sorry I missed them. They are supposed to be the smallest in the world. As for ostriches, yes they are fabulous.
It was fun for me to blog about the largest and close to smallest of flightless birds. Thanks.
I think the smallest are Fairy penguins, in Oz, though they may be in NZ too. I remember being taken to see them as a child as they returned to the beach (at dusk? a dawn?) in Port Philip Bay near Melbourne – hundreds of them. The ones we saw in NZ are quite unusual – solitary (which is unusual for penguins) and yellow-eyed.
I’ve read about the Port Philip’s Bay experience, Alison.
It’s a childhood memory – I must have been 8 maybe. I remember everyone being contained behind a fence, but with still a good view of them. Funny what sticks in your memory isn’t it.
Important things, Alison. Grin.
For some reason, it surprised me to see ostriches and water in the same photo. Apparently I thought of them as a desert bird, or at least one given to drier, sandier places. I wouldn’t want one coming after me, that’s for sure. Now, the penguins? I’m there for that overload of cuteness. And I must say, there are days when I feel like I’m swimming in sand!
My first encounter with a wild ostrich was in Tanzania back in 67, Linda. They mainly hang out in the drier savannah areas of eastern and southern Africa. Have you seen the movie Jumanji where the flock of ostriches comes charging across the desert? Penguins are cute. I’ve never gone swimming in the sand, but I can certainly speak to how difficult walking through it can be!
Your photos illuminate some great details, Curt. I was noticing that not just the penguins but also the ostriches have lower appendages that seem too big. The ostrich legs look the same size as their necks. Like the others said, I had no idea that ostriches had teeth! Or that penguins sunbathed. How vulnerable the penguins seem with flightless wings that hang at their sides. All of this is fascinating, and the penguin looking in the door is funny.
I’m pretty sure if I would have opened that door, Crystal, the penguin would have walked right in. The penguins are vulnerable. In fact, this particular species is endangered. In terms of lower appendages, one certainly wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a kick by that ostrich! Long legs, long necks!
There are times I’d like to bury my head in the sand, Curt, and I love the toothy grin. I was surprised by the teeth. 🙂 Also by the fact that they don’t like to fight. And the penguins are so cute. I watched a documentary on penguins once and they live such a hard life; it was actually kind of sad. Great photos as always.
“I watched a documentary on penguins once and they live such a hard life.” Where we were in South Africa, Lauren, it was dodging great white sharks while diving for fish. Certainly nothing I would like to contend with. Total agreement on burying my head. I can manage with a good book and avoiding the news for a few days. 🙂 Unfortunately, reality creeps back in… Thanks on the photos.