25 Common Beliefs That Are Totally Wrong

Ostriches Bury Their Heads in the Sand

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Ostrich Behavior The classic image of ostriches hiding their heads in sand to dodge danger is pure myth. No one’s ever seen this in real life—it would suffocate them! This tale is just folklore. The myth likely comes from ostriches lowering their heads to the ground when threatened. They lie flat, stretching their neck along the dirt to blend in, looking from afar like their head’s buried.

They also dig shallow sand nests for eggs, often dipping heads to turn them, adding to the confusion. Far from cowardly, ostriches are fierce, running up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and kicking hard to fight off threats.