Ostrich wings have another function
ostrich illustration (unsplash.com/Mariola Grobelska)
When it comes to birds, one word that immediately comes to mind is “fly”. Birds are endowed with wings that function as a means of locomotion so that they can fly anywhere up to a high place.
However, did you know that there are some birds that can’t fly even though they have wings? Yes, one of them is an ostrich.
This sparked curiosity as well as an interesting question, why can’t ostriches fly? So, if you can’t fly, what is the function of these wings?
To find out the answer, read this explanation.
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The reason ostriches can’t fly like other birds
Not a few people think that it’s useless for an ostrich to have wings. This is because ostriches cannot fly. This of course raises a big question, “why can’t an ostrich fly even though it has wings?”
In human logic, wouldn’t it be easier for the ostrich if it could fly? As the largest bird in the world, the ostrich has a wingspan of around 1.8 m. It weighs up to 320 pounds and stands up to 9 feet tall.
So, the height of an adult ostrich is estimated at about 2-3 m. Its running speed can be 64 km per hour, slightly slower than cheetah.
Reported Pet keen, This body shape is the reason the ostrich cannot fly. His wings were unable to lift his heavy body into the air.
Ostriches are included in the group of birds mentioned ratites, still a group with emu, kiwi, and cassowary. These birds have one thing in common, which is that they have no parts keel along the sternum, even though it serves to hold the muscles in flight.
If you look back at the past, actually the cause of the ostrich not being able to fly is quite complex. There is a long evolutionary process behind it.
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