Somali Ostrich

Though generally similar to other ostriches, the skin of the neck and thighs of the Somali ostrich is blue-tinged grey (rather than pinkish), becoming brighter blue on the male during the mating season. The neck lacks any broad white ring. The wing primary and tail feathers are white in males, and brown in females. The males are larger than the females. The Somali ostrich is similar in size to other ostriches so far as is known, perhaps averaging marginally smaller in body mass than some subspecies of common ostrich (at least the nominate race, S. c. camelus). Reportedly Somali ostriches in captivity weigh about 105 kg (231 lb) but this may not be an accurate weight for wild birds as captive animals have feeding accesses not available to wild ostriches. It is thus one of the two largest extant bird species.

The Somali ostrich is mostly found in the Horn of Africa, especially in north-eastern Ethiopia, southern Djibouti, most of Kenya, and across most of Somalia.

The Somali ostrich is differentiated ecologically from the common ostrich, with which there is some range overlap, by preferring bushier, more thickly vegetated areas, where it feeds largely by browsing, whereas the common ostrich is mainly a grazer on open savanna. There are also reports of interbreeding difficulties between the two taxa.