Ostrich

Ostriches are the quickest runners of any bird or other two-legged animal, capable of sprinting at speeds of over 70 kilometers per hour and covering up to 5 meters in a single stride. Therefore, the fact that the largest bird egg is laid by the largest bird — the ostrich – should come as no surprise. A captive ostrich laid the thickest ostrich egg ever recorded. The egg weighed 5 pounds and 11 ounces. Ostrich eggs are 6 inches long and weigh 3 pounds on average. That's nearly 20 chicken eggs in size!

Each year, the breeding season of the ostrich runs from March through September. The male does an elaborate dance in which he appears to kneel to the ground and shake his feathers, one wing at a time, while his tail bobs up and down. The most territorial male will mate with flocks of three to five hens at a time, but only with the most dominant hen will he create a pair bond. Other men will also have a chance to mate with the remaining females.

Measuring around 25cm (10 in) tall and weighing around 1 to 1.2kg (2 to 2.6lb), ostrich chicks are substantially larger than many mature birds and are around the same size as a small chicken as a result! After hatching, the chicks are generally inactive for about a day, but by days 2 or 3, when they can walk, they start chasing after their parents and other chicks.