19 Nov 2019: How to ID an Ostrich

OSTRICH: A large bird to which (for its sins, doubtless) nature has denied that hinder toe… The absence of a good working pair of wings is no defect, for, as has been ingeniously pointed out, the ostrich does not fly.

Ambrose Bierce

Our next destination was the Ali Dege Plains in the Hallaydageh Asebot National Park, some 50 km north-east of Awash. The target birds were two local bustards: the Arabian- and Little Brown Bustard. The Plains are also home to the rarely seen Somali Ostrich, so it was absolutely essential to be able to ID these birds.

Arabian Bustard, Ali Dege Plains

Ostriches, like pipits, larks and cisticolas, are notoriously difficult to identify. The best way to go about it is through a process of elimination. Now, ostriches differ from other LBJs in that they are large, flightless birds – a distinctive feature that they share with Dodos, Elephant Birds, Emus, Rheas, and Cassowaries. So, basically, you can ignore any birds that have been extinct for more than three hundred years. That takes care of the Dodos and Elephant Birds. Emus, Rheas and Cassowaries are rarely seen in Africa – mostly because they can’t fly. But if you do happen to be chased by a Cassowary on the Ali Dege Plains - you will arrive at the pearly gates in the secure knowledge that the most dangerous bird in the world and yourself have just made ornithological history. Ostriches are earthbound, so you can also disregard any birds sitting on electricity pylons or telephone wires.

Ostriches are not known for their brains. To call them bird-brained would be doing other birds a disservice. A case in point – they build their nests out on the open plains, just to spend most of their day sitting there in the baking midday sun. Ostriches are also prone to wipe their heads in the sand – thereby exposing their thinking parts to the world. And never approach a male ostrich on foot in order to determine if it will fly away and clarify your ID. You see – male ostriches have this hair-brained idea that other two-legged creatures might want to be romantically involved with their females. Their answer to this romantic triangle is to run you down at 50 km/h and stomp you in the groin. Come to think of it – this is actually a brilliant solution to the perceived problem.

The distribution of the Common- and Somali Ostrich overlaps on the Ali Dege Plains. The long-necked, black-and-white apparition, wearing a white clerical collar and wandering aimlessly on the plains, could either be a zealous missionary looking for lost souls, or a Common Ostrich looking for diamonds. Check the guidebooks – the white clerical collar, or diamonds in the gizzard, is definitive.

Little Brown Bustard, Ali Dege Plains

Both the other target birds - the Little Brown Bustard and the Arabian Bustard – were found after going off-road on the simmering hot plains for a few hours. Small flocks of Soemmerring's Gazelle, once the most abundant gazelle on the African continent but now in rapid decline, were moving about in near proximity to Grevy’s Zebra and Beisa Oryx. And yes, I did manage to identify a Somali Ostrich. How do I know it was a Somali Ostrich? Well - it was not sitting on a telephone wire.

Somali Ostrich, Abiata-Shalla