Burying Our Head in the Sand

Click here to listen to this feature  

When we try to ignore a problem we are often accused of "burying our head in the sand."  This behaviour is generally attributed to the ostrich, which is commonly believed to bury its head in the sand to ignore danger.

But this reputation of the ostrich is a myth.  A threatened ostrich can easily escape, or attack a predator with its powerful kick.  The ostrich is one of the largest and heaviest birds, which although it can't fly, has thick and powerful legs, which enable it to sprint at speeds of up to seventy kilometres an hour for short bursts, with over ten foot strides.  It can easily outpace most pursuers.

The myth probably arises because when an ostrich senses danger and cannot run, for example when it is sitting on a nest of eggs, it will often stretch out its neck to the ground, lay its head on the flat earth in front of it, and remain still.  Because of the colour, the head and neck blend in with the ground, so that from a distance it looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible.

Another suggested explanation is that since male ostriches use their bills to make shallow nests in the sand, it often looks as if the ostrich's head is buried in the sand when seen from a distance.

So next time you're facing a problem remember, not even the ostrich buries his head in the sand.