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Macintosh Picture Format  |  1996-09-10  |  187.3 KB  |  640x310  |  8-bit (237 colors)
   ocr: accompanied by the female. Such elaborate behavior is but one indicator of the complex social life of the ostrich. More subtle evidence of ostrich sociability can be found in the ratio of adults to young in this scene. A female ostrich lays six to eight eggs in a single season. Yet here there are more than eight young, both hatched and unhatched. This is because ostriches are polygamous. After digging a shallow pit for a - nest, prospective a male mates to lures it, OSTR - several of whom may lay their eggs there. Then a primary female, or & "major hen," is chosen to watch over the entire clut ...