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Ostrich egg
This impressive egg belongs to the largest bird in the world; the ostrich. There are two extant species of ostrich, common and Somali, both of whom occur in semi-arid habitats throughout Africa.
These flightless birds are still very agile, able to reach speeds of 70 km/h. Ostriches have been the victim of somewhat of an injustice - they are the inspiration behind the phrase ‘the policy of the ostrich’, namely to bury one’s head in the sand and ignore a problem, however ostriches do not in fact perform this behaviour. Females lay their eggs in communal scrape nests, dug out by males, with the dominant female the first to lay. Males and females then engage in chick rearing cooperatively. Ostrich eggs have been valued throughout history, for example during the Renaissance they were mounted in silver and displayed in ‘cabinets of curiosities’.