A combination of better hunting techniques, i.e. cars and guns, and a fashion driven market for the tail feathers of the male are the principal causes for the reduction in natural habitat. Farming now produces Ostriches not only for their feathers, but also for the eggs, meat and the hides as a high quality leather. Ostriches are omnivorous feeding mainly on seeds and other plant material but taking insects and other animals when they are available. They are nomadic, wandering wherever food is available. They need to take in water regularly despite rumours that they can live without drinking.
Ostriches are polygamous, with males forming a harem of several females.
He constructs a nest which is little more than a shallow pit in the sand. Into this all the females he has mated lay their eggs, resulting in a collection of between 15 and 60 eggs as each female lays 6-14 eggs. These eggs are incubated by the dominant female during the day and the male at night. The dominant female may have help from other females. The eggs hatch in about 40 days and the brown and cream striped young are 'precocial' meaning that they are ready to leave the nest and feed within hours of hatching.