Ostriches, rheas and allies
Ostriches and their relatives are ratites - an order of flightless birds. The other members are the kiwis, emu, cassowary and rheas, as well as various extinct species such as the elephant bird.
Kiwis
OstrichAbout
A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct. Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum - hence their name, which comes from the Latin (ratis) for raft. Without this to anchor their wing muscles, they could not fly even if they were to develop suitable wings.
Most parts of the former Gondwana have ratites, or have had until the fairly recent past. Their closest flying relatives are the tinamous of South America.
Some taxonomical systems consider the various families of ratites to be orders, but the system used here uses the order "Struthioniformes" to refer to all ratites.
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Scientific Classification
Order: Ratite (Struthioniformes)
Other Aves
- Anseriformes (family: Ducks, geese and swans)
- Daytime birds of prey (Falconiformes)
- Gamebirds (Galliformes)
- Gruiformes (family: Cranes)
- Hornbills, kingfishers and allies (Coraciiformes)
- Parrots (Psittaciformes)
- Pelicans, cormorants and allies (Pelecaniformes)
- Perching birds (Passeriformes)
- Piciformes (family: Woodpeckers, wrynecks and allies)
- Shorebirds and allies (Charadriiformes)
- Storks and long-legged wading birds (Ciconiiformes)
- Strigiformes (family: True owls)
- Swifts and hummingbirds (Apodiformes)
- Tubenoses (Procellariiformes)
Elsewhere on the web
- Ratite classification and facts (teara.govt.nz)
- Ratite (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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