Which bird has got a 46-foot long small intestine

A.� The ostrich, Struthio camelus.

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Q.� Ah, the ones that bury their heads in the sand

A.� Actually this is a myth. It probably arises from a defence mechanism they employ when sitting in their nests: because they have such long necks they lay them along the ground to make themselves less conspicuous. To early observers it looked as though they had put their heads in the sand.

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Q.� Is there anything else unusual the ostrich does or doesn't do

A.� The ostrich is a great anomaly in the natural world; it's the biggest bird on earth, yet it can't fly. The only time it uses its wings is to impress an passing female in a courtship display.

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Q.� Just how big

A.� Up to 2 metres tall and weighing in at up to 130kg.

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Q.� They lay big eggs too don't they

A.� Yes, The average egg is 15 cm in length, 12 cm in width, weighs about 2 kilograms, and is shiny and whitish in colour. Ostrich chicks take around 40 days to hatch.

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Q.� What's the point of being a bird that can't fly

A.� It doesn't fly because at some point in its evolutionary history it no longer needed to.

It feeds on the surrounding vegetation.

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It doesn't need to fly away from predators, its huge size and weight mean tat anyone would think twice before attempting to eat it. Anything that did fancy their chances would receive a very powerful kick from the ostrich's huge leg. And if the ostrich does need to beat a hasty retreat it can do so at 45 miles an hour.

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Q.� Where do ostriches live

A.� Up until 1941 ostriches lived in Syria, Arabia, and Africa. However trade in their skin and eggs led to them being hunted to extinction in both Syria and Arabia, and now they can only be found in Central Africa.

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by Lisa Cardy