In certain quarters there is a debate as to whether the ostrich is intelligent or stupid. We are not going to engage in that pastime. However, we will cite from an important publication that has something very interesting to say about the ostrich in Africa.
…it wanders about in flocks of twenty and thirty and keeps strictly to the steppe…. It associates also with other species, like giraffes, zebras, and antelopes…,who look upon the ostrich as their guardian. On account of its tallness and far-sightedness the bird is the first to give them a danger signal. The ostrich is extraordinarily keen-sighted, and on its native plains is extremely wary.1
There can be little doubt that ostrich meat is delicious. It bears a strong resemblance to beef, but don’t expect to see globs of fat. It is similar to grass-fed beef, the kind that we personally like very much. The ancient Romans liked it, too. They liked to eat it roasted, with the wings prized as a delicacy. The Emperor Elagabalus (A.D. 218-222), a.k.a., Heliogabalus, a.k.a, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a.k.a., Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, a.k.a.,—ENOUGH!—once served the heads, 600 hundred of them, at one of his banquets. Guests were expected to consume the brains. Elagabalus had a reputation for being a bit of a prankster and is considered by those in the know to be the father of the whoopee cushion. Nevertheless, there is nothing to suggest that this was a joke. He is known to have loved ostrich meat.
1Laufer, B. Ostrich Egg-shell Cups of Mesopotamia and the Ostrich in Ancient and Modern Times (Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, 1926).
Drinking Japan 