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The
ostrich is a funny looking bird. With its long and skinny
neck, the overly large body, long legs and big, beady eyes,
you will be forgiven if you laugh at your first sight of
this strange looking creature. Many cartoons depict the
ostrich with its head buried in sand - this is a myth. Ostriches
do not bury their heads in sand. It is certainly not a myth
that the ostrich cannot fly - although the ostrich has large
wings, it is incapable of flying. It can run very fast and
over short distances of about 100 - 150 metres, can reach
speeds of about 50 kilometres an hour.
Never be tempted to get too close to an ostrich, especially
during breeding season. The male ostrich (the one with the
black and white feathers) can be extremely dangerous and
although you might think that you could outrun it, it is
more likely that the bird will overtake you and give you
a hard kick - this may sound funny, but ostriches have been
known to kill people with their kicks.
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