Do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

No. Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand. They lay eggs in a shallow pit and dip their heads to check and turn them, and when threatened they may press their head and neck flat to the ground to be less visible.

What's actually true

Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand. Ostriches never hide their heads in sand. The myth probably comes from their nesting habits: they lay eggs in a shallow hole in the ground and regularly dip their heads down to check and turn them. When threatened, an ostrich may also press its head and neck flat to the ground to be less visible.

Takeaway: "Head in the sand" is a human habit, not an ostrich one.

Why people believe it

From a distance, an ostrich with its head down at the nest or lying flat on sandy ground really does look like a headless body, so the observation is real even if the explanation is wrong. The image is also too good a metaphor to give up: 'head in the sand' describes ignoring a problem perfectly. Once a phrase like that is everywhere, people repeat it as a fact about the bird instead of a description of people.

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