Yes, ostriches, those rather large flightless birds that we think of as oh-so African, actually evolved in India over the millions of years that the Indian continental plate was drifting towards the Eurasian land mass!

After India joined Asia, these ostriches spread from here to the rest of the world, arriving in Africa about 20 million years ago.

There was also a lot of interaction between ostriches and early Indians! Many ostrich eggshells were found in Patne in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra from about 25,000 years ago. Some had handmade designs on them, and many were used to make decorative beads. Ostrich-eggshell beads have been found at more than 40 sites across India.

In Bhimbetka in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, some beads were discovered in an ancient rock burial shelter, around the skeletal neck of a buried man.

The ancient cave art of Bhimbetka has paintings of not only ostriches, but also of of girrafe-like animals, etched by our ancient ancestors many thousands years ago.

These ostriches and giraffes later became extinct in most places outside of Africa.