Telling adult male and female ostriches apart is very simple. The male has mostly black plumage, whereas the female is mostly gray-brown or beige.
The male is also considerably larger in some cases, measuring up to 2.5m to 2.8m tall vs. 2m for the females.
Young and juvenile ostriches are harder to tell apart. Juvenile female ostriches retain lighter brown beige feathers, whereas male juvenile ostriches gradually darken into their black plumage. This takes around 1.5 years.
Aside from size and plumage, males and females share virtually every characteristic. They have long necks, large eyes with long eyelashes, super-long powerful legs, and bulky bodies.