When you purchase through link on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
For C , people have claimed that , when faced with peril , ostrich ( Struthiospecies ) stick their heads in the sand to hide . This bright simulacrum led to the popular phrase " bury your chief in the sand " to describe when someone refuses to face their problems head - on .
This belief about ostriches may have been created by the Roman naturalistPliny the Elder , also have it away as Gaius Plinius Secundus , who make out one of the earliest compendium of encyclopedias , accord toABC science . In Book 10 of " The Natural account , " he describes an ostrich hiding its foreland in the George Walker Bush to appear invisible .
“Bury your head in the sand” is an idiom that means to avoid or ignore a difficult situation.
" They have the marvellous property of being able-bodied to digest every substance without distinction , but their foolishness is no less remarkable ; for although the rest of their body is so large , they suppose , when they have thrust their head and neck opening into a President Bush , that the whole of the body is concealed , " he wrote , accord to one translation of the text .
But do Struthio camelus really bury their heads ? No , they do not , but they sometimes look like they are .
Ostrichesare found in Africa and live in a form of home ground , include grassland , savannas and comeupance . They are the earthly concern ’s largest birds , weighing up to 287 pounds ( 130 kilograms ) , and they can grow up to 9 invertebrate foot ( 2.7 meter ) tall , consort toSan Diego Zoo . However , their head are comparatively small , and they do have a few demeanor that , from a space , may look like they are swallow their heads .
Ostriches are the largest birds in the world but have very small heads relative to their size.
Related:12 of the biggest birds on Earth
Unlike nest - building skirt , ostriches dig shallow holes in the guts or dirt to lay their eggs . Both parentsrotate the eggs several times a dayto ensure they are kept warm . This behaviour may , from afar , look like they have their heads buried .
ostrich also spend most of their metre with their heads close to the ground as they look for food for thought , including grass and , occasionally , small animal , such asmice , Gaul and insects .
Ostriches do not build nests like other birds, instead they dig shallow holes with their claws.
— Mice on remote island that eat albatrosses live sentenced to death by ' bombing , ' scientist decree
— Meet ' small frogman ' : One of the tiny penguins ever name
— about half a million ' incursive ' bird of night , including their hybrid issue , to be killed by US
Ostriches stay close to the ground while foraging for food which, from a distance, may look like their heads are buried in the ground.
They are the fastest - running birds in the world , with a maximal fastness of 43 miles per hour ( 70 km / h ) according to Smithsonian ’s National Zoo . In the natural state , Struthio camelus have many natural vulture — let in cheetahs , lions and leopards — and if they ’re in danger , ostriches often run away .
If they can not escape , they sometimes dwell extremelyflat on the ground , with their neck extended , to blend in with the terrain . Somereportssuggest that adult ostriches employ their wings to disturb the dust underneath them , creating a swarm to perturb nearby predators forth from their chicks . They can even deliver a kick stiff enough to bolt down a lion .
So , in reality , ostriches bank on their f number and keen sense to detect and escape predatory animal ; they have no need to bury their pass .
