Editing Common ostrich (section)

===Mating===
[[File:Common ostrich mating in ngorongoro.jpg|thumb|Mating in [[Ngorongoro Conservation Area]]]]
[[File:Ostrich with eggs.jpg|thumb|With eggs]]
Common ostriches become [[sexual maturity|sexually mature]] when they are 2 to 4 years old; females mature about six months earlier than males. As with other birds, an individual may [[Iteroparity|reproduce several times over its lifetime]]. The [[mating season]] begins in March or April and ends sometime before September. The mating process differs in different geographical regions. [[Territory (animal)|Territorial]] males typically [[mating call|boom]] (by inflating their neck) in defense of their territory and harem of two to seven hens;<ref name="Bertram 1992"/> the successful male may then mate with several females in the area, but will only form a pair bond with a 'major' female.<ref name="Bertram 1992"/>

The cock performs with his wings, alternating wing beats, until he attracts a mate. They will go to the mating area and he will maintain privacy by driving away all intruders. They graze until their behavior is synchronized, then the feeding becomes secondary and the process takes on a ritualistic appearance. The cock will then excitedly flap alternate wings again and start poking on the ground with his bill. He will then violently flap his wings to symbolically clear out a nest in the soil. Then, while the hen runs a circle around him with lowered wings, he will wind his head in a spiral motion. She will drop to the ground and he will mount for copulation.<ref name="Davies"/> Common ostriches raised entirely by humans may direct their courtship behavior not at other ostriches, but toward their human keepers.<ref name=BBC/>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ostriches Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.jpeg|Only 15% of hatchling chicks reach 1 year of age.
File:Struthio camelus - Strausskueken.jpg|Chick|alt=Ostrich chick standing
File:2014-12-02 12h28 Ostrich Farm anagoria.JPG|Recently hatched from egg|alt=Chick, recently hatched from egg
File:Ostrich hen with chicks, northern Serengeti.jpg|Hen with chicks
File:Struthio camelus -Serengeti, Tanzania -female on nest-8.jpg|Female incubating eggs|alt=Female incubating eggs in a shallow nest on the ground
File:Struthio camelus - strus (2).JPG|Nest
</gallery>

[[File:Struthio camelus MWNH 0028.JPG|frameless|right|upright|alt=Egg]]
[[File:Struthio_camelus_egg.jpg|frameless|right|upright|alt=Fried egg]]
The female common ostrich lays her fertilized [[egg (biology)|eggs]] in a single communal nest, a simple pit, {{cvt|30|to|60|cm}} deep and {{cvt|3|m}} wide,<ref name=Harrison/> scraped in the ground by the male. The dominant female lays her eggs first; when it is time to cover them for incubation, she discards extra eggs from the weaker females, leaving about 20 in most cases.<ref name="Davies"/> A female common ostrich can distinguish her own eggs from the others in a communal nest.<ref name=Bertram1979/> Ostrich eggs are the largest of all eggs,<ref name=Hyde/> though they are actually the smallest eggs relative to the size of the adult bird – on average they are {{cvt|15|cm}} long, {{cvt|13|cm}} wide, and weigh {{cvt|1.4|kg}}, over 20 times the weight of a chicken's egg and only 1 to 4% the size of the female.<ref name=Perrins/> They are glossy cream-colored, with thick shells marked by small pits.<ref name="Nell 2003"/>

The eggs are incubated by the females by day and by the males by night. This uses the coloration of the two sexes to escape detection of the nest.  The drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the night.<ref name="Nell 2003"/> The [[Avian incubation|incubation]] period is 35 to 45 days, which is rather short compared to other [[ratite]]s. This is believed to be the case due to the high rate of predation.<ref name=Perrins/> Typically, the male defends the hatchlings and teaches them to feed, although males and females cooperate in rearing chicks. Fewer than 10% of nests survive the 9-week period of laying and incubation, and of the surviving chicks, only 15% of those survive to 1 year of age.<ref name=Perrins2/> However, among those common ostriches who survive to adulthood, the species is one of the longest-living bird species. Common ostriches in captivity have lived to 62 years and 7 months.<ref name = "Wood"/>