Ostriches live in sub-Saharan Africa in an area that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia and down into Tanzania. There's also a population of ostriches in South Africa. Ostriches used to live in the Middle East and southwestern Asia until they were extirpated from those areas.
Ostriches live in the drier parts of their habitat and in areas where there is water for drinking and bathing. This includes grassland, areas of thorny scrub vegetation, desert and semi-desert. Ostriches are also farmed worldwide for their meat and the plumes of their tails and wings. Some ostriches have escaped their farms and are now feral in parts of Australia.
