Pat Murphy, age 11, of Climax, Codo.,

How many eggs does an ostrich lay in a year?

Mrs. Ostrich lays about fifteen eggs a year. This is a single brood and mama and papa bring up the youngsters together. Mr. Ostrich, the biggest bird in the world, stands seven to eight feet tall and Mrs. Ostrich is only slightly smaller. We would expect these giant birds to lay giant sized eggs. And so they do.

A creamy colored ostrich egg weighs about three pounds. The nest must be big and strong enough to hold about 45 pounds of eggs. It is built by Papa Ostrich. He uses his strong claws to dig a shallow hole in the ground.

Papa stays close to the nest to see that the eggs are kept properly warm. He often drives mama away and sets on them himself. As a rule,, he allows her to sit on the nest during the daytime while he takes over the job at night.

The sassy chicks do not have the; soft, graceful plumage of their parents. When they hatch, they are covered with spiky down and look like porcupines.