Struthio Camelus (Femina) / L’Au Truche Femele.

Title

Struthio Camelus (Femina) / L’Au Truche Femele.

Decorative representation of an austrich.

ca. 1800

Artist

Miger

Historical Description

The African ostrich is a species of bird in the ostrich family and is the largest living bird on earth after the closely related Somali ostrich. Ostriches are diurnal birds that are particularly active at dusk and dawn. In times when food is scarce, they have to undertake long migrations and are able to migrate in the midday sun. While today it is only native to sub-Saharan Africa, in earlier times it was also found in West Asia. The ostrich has always been of interest to humans because of its feathers, meat and leather, which led to the extinction of the bird in many regions. Ostriches live in open landscapes such as savannahs and deserts. They prefer habitats with short grass and not too many trees. African ostriches were first introduced to Australia in 1869. The imported ostriches were to be used to establish farms in Australia to supply the fashion industry with feathers.