In popular mythology, the Ostrich is famous for hiding its head in the sand at the first sign of danger. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder is noted for his descriptions of the ostrich in his Naturalis Historia, where he describes the Ostrich and the fact that it hides its head in a bush.
There have been no recorded observations of this behaviour. A common counter-argument is that a species that displayed this behaviour would not survive very long. The myth may have resulted from the fact that, from a distance, when ostriches feed they appear to be burying their head in the sand because they deliberately swallow sand and pebbles to help grind up their food. However, ostriches that are threatened but unable to run away may fall to the ground and stretch out their necks; as their necks are the same color as sand, within a desert this camouflage could be mistaken for having disappeared or being buried.