Passive Solar Design in the Animal Kingdom

Most of us are familiar with the ostrich: a rather ugly bird, flightless, which looks like a feather duster on stilts. I'd never had much respect for the gangly ostrich, until I saw one in the wild and learned about its amazing design. While we were on a "game drive", our ranger/guide explained to us some of the amazing features of this bird. The ostrich, rather inelegant, lays enormous eggs and has a tiny brain; however, the male and the female ostrich differ in their plumage: the male is black and the female a non-descript grey. Why? Well, during the day, the female sits on the eggs; her feathers are the same colour as the sandy landscape in which she sits. She is thus camouflaged against predators. During the day, the black feathers of the male absorb the heat of the sun. When night falls, the female goes off to look for food, and the daddy takes his turn on the nest. His feathers release their heat, keeping the eggs warm. In addition, his black colour hides the nest in the darkness of the African night. Pretty smart for a bird-brain!