Today's useless fact - Do ostriches really bury their heads in the sand?

In popular mythology, the ostrich is famous for hiding its head in the sand at the first sign of danger. There have been no recorded observations of this behaviour. The myth may have resulted from the fact that, from a distance, when ostriches feed they appear to be burying their head in the sand because they deliberately swallow sand/pebbles to help grind up their food. When lying down and hiding from predators, the birds are known to lay their head and neck flat on the ground. When threatened, ostriches run away, but they can also seriously injure with kicks from their powerful legs. I was also amazed to find out that ostriches can live up to 70 years and their eggs are the largest of all eggs. Check out the links in our Ostrich category for more.