Jason Ennis, age 8, of Biloxi, Miss., for his question:

HOW HEAVY IS AN OSTRICH?

An ostrich is the largest living bird. It may stand nearly eight feet tall and it weighs as much as 350 pounds. You'll find ostriches living in most zoos. In the wilds, you'll find them on the plains and deserts of Africa.

But the ostrich hasn't always been the world's biggest bird. Now extinct is the elephant bird of Madagascar. The bird weighed over 1,000 pounds. Also almost dwarfing the ostrich was the now extinct moa bird of New Zealand. This bird was over 10 feet tall.

The ostrich's speed and its unusually good eyesight help the animal escape from its enemies, which are mainly humans and lions.

Is the ancient belief that the ostrich hides its head in the sand when frightened true? No, it's not.

If the ostrich is exhausted and cannot run any farther, or if it must defend its nest, the bird kicks with its powerful legs. Its long toes, the largest of which is seven inches long, have thick nails that become dangerous weapons when the bird is cornered.

The ostrich is the only bird that has only two toes on each foot. The rhea, which is also called the South American ostrich, is three toed, and it is not a true ostrich.

The male bird is the handsome one. It has black feathers on its bulky body, with large white feathers or plumes on its small wings and tail. Its long, thin legs and upper neck and its small head have almost no feathers. The bare skin can be pink or blue.

The female's body, tail and wings are dull brown in color.

When a young ostrich is a month old, it can run as fast as an adult. Ostriches live up to 70 years. Few other birds live so long.

Ostriches are polygamous, which means that the male has more than one mate. Each cock, as the male is called, digs a shallow nest in the sand, and from three to five hens, as the females are called, lay their eggs in the nest he has dug.

Each hen may lay as many as 10 eggs. Each egg is almost round, nearly six inches in diameter and weighs about three pounds. The eggs are dull yellow in color and have large pores and thick shells.

The male sits on the eggs at night. But during the day the hens share the job of keeping the eggs warm.

The eggs hatch in five to six weeks.

An ostrich usually eats plants but will sometimes eat lizards and turtles if it can find them. It also eats much sand and gravel to.aid in grinding food for digestion.

Ostriches drink water when they find it. But they can live for long periods without drinking if the plants they eat are green and moist.