Somali ostrich

Somali ostrich
Male at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya
Female at Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Struthionidae
Genus: Struthio
Species:
S. molybdophanes
Binomial name
Struthio molybdophanes
Yellow area shows range of Struthio molybdophanes
Synonyms
  • Struthio camelus molybdophanes Reichenow, 1883

The Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes), also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is a large flightless bird native to the Horn of Africa. It is one of two living species of ostriches, the other being the common ostrich. It was also previously considered a subspecies of the common ostrich, but was identified as a distinct species in 2014.