Ostriches…Made On Day 5 or Day 6?

Ostriches…Made On Day 5 or Day 6?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, July 15, 2026 (Donate)

When we look at ostriches, emus, cassowaries, rheas, kiwis, and other flightless birds today, a natural question arises: When were they created?

The Bible clearly teaches that all living things were created during Creation Week. More specifically, God created the winged creatures on Day 5 and the land animals on Day 6 (Genesis 1:20–25).

At first glance, however, ostriches seem to “blur” the distinction. It’s true that they have feathers, wings, beaks, and lay eggs like other birds, yet…they spend virtually their entire lives on the ground. They cannot soar through the sky like eagles or storks. Instead, they run across the plains at incredible speeds, using their powerful legs rather than powerful wings.

So where do ostriches fit? Were they really Day 5 creations?

Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

The Puzzle Of Flightless Birds

Ostriches are unmistakably birds. They possess all the major characteristics we associate with birds: feathers, wings, beaks, egg-laying reproduction, and lightweight skeletons. Yet their wings are far too small to lift their massive bodies into the air.

The same is true of emus, cassowaries, rheas, kiwis, and penguins. Each belongs to the bird group, but none flies in the “traditional” sense. This raises an interesting question. If God created birds to "fly above the earth" (Genesis 1:20), why do some birds not fly today?

Flightless Birds; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Did Ostriches' Ancestors Fly?

One possible explanation is that ostriches descended from ancestors that possessed the ability to fly. The Bible never directly says whether the original ostrich kind flew, so we should not be dogmatic. Nevertheless, degeneration since the Fall provides a perfectly reasonable explanation.

After Adam sinned in Genesis 3, creation came under God's curse (Romans 8:20–22). Animals have experienced degenerative and genetic changes since then. We observe loss of function, disease, mutations, extinction, and many examples of degeneration throughout the created world.

Let’s consider modern breeding as an illustration. Large commercial white turkeys were selectively bred from wild flightful turkeys during the twentieth century. Today's domestic birds have such enormous breast muscles that they can barely leave the ground. Their ancestors flew quite well, but artificial selection was used to breed them for meat production rather than flight.

Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Likewise, it is possible that ostriches experienced natural degeneration over thousands of years after the Fall, gradually losing the ability to fly while becoming exceptional runners. The Bible certainly allows for such possibilities.

Losses Are Common In Nature

Biologists have documented many examples of creatures losing abilities. Some beetles have lost functional wings altogether and now spend their lives on the ground. Certain island insects no longer produce wings because flying became unnecessary or disadvantageous in their environment. They fly up and wind ejects them from the island and they become fish food.

These examples involve the loss of information or loss of function—not the evolution of entirely new complex structures. Note that these changes are going in the opposite direction for alleged evolutionary changes.

Creationists have long noted that variation within created kinds often involves degeneration rather than innovation. Losing the ability to fly is far easier biologically than developing the sophisticated anatomy required for powered flight.

So even if the original ostrich kind possessed greater flying ability, losing that ability after the Fall would be reasonable within the biblical worldview.

Job Gives An Interesting Observation

By the days of Job, which was long after the Fall and probably not too many centuries after the Flood, ostriches were already known for their inability to fly.

Job records:

"The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork's?" (Job 39:13, NKJV)

The comparison is striking. God contrasts the ostrich with the stork, a bird famous for graceful flight. The ostrich has wings, but they do not function like those of a stork. This means that the ostrich's flightlessness was already well established in Job's day.

Stork vs. Ostrich in Job; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Wings Still Serve A Purpose

Although ostriches do not fly, their wings are far from useless. They use them for:

·       Balance while making sharp turns at high speed.

·       Courtship displays.

·       Threat displays toward predators.

·       Providing shade for chicks.

·       Assisting with braking and maneuvering while running.

Likewise, penguins use their wings as remarkably efficient flippers for swimming.

God's design remains functional even when the original purpose of a structure may have changed or diminished.

Land Animals That "Fly"

The opposite situation also exists. Some creatures classified as land animals are capable of remarkable aerial movement despite having no wings.

Flying squirrels glide between trees using folds of skin stretched between their limbs. They do not truly fly, but they can travel impressive distances through the air.

The Paradise Tree Snake does something equally remarkable. It flattens its body into an airfoil and glides from tree to tree without possessing wings at all.

Gliding land animals; Image requested by Bodie Hodge*

Neither animal is classified as a bird simply because it spends time in the air. Movement alone does not determine biblical classification.

What Does Genesis Actually Say?

Genesis records:

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds (owph) fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged (kanaph) bird (owph) according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20–21, NKJV)

The Hebrew word commonly translated "bird" is owph. The word broadly refers to a winged creature. Genesis 1:21 further clarifies this by adding the word kanaph, meaning "wing." Together, they describe creatures possessing wings.

Interestingly, Scripture uses owph more broadly than our modern English word "bird." It includes bats (Deuteronomy 14:11–18), even though bats are mammals. Since birds are the most common flying creature to our everyday experience, it makes sense why translators selected “bird” in many English translations.

Nevertheless, many creationists have also suggested that extinct flying reptiles, such as pterosaurs, would naturally fit within this broader biblical category because they were winged creatures. Likewise, winged insects also fit the broader concept of winged creatures, even though Genesis primarily focuses on the larger created kinds.

For this reason, "winged creatures" often captures the Hebrew meaning better than simply "birds."

God's Own Classification

Perhaps the strongest evidence comes from God's own classification in the Mosaic Law.  Leviticus 11 lists animals classified as owph. Among them are:

·       Eagles

·       Vultures

·       Falcons

·       Ravens

·       Owls

·       Hawks

·       Bats

·       Ostriches

Note the bat, but also note the ostrich. Leviticus 11:16 specifically includes "the ostrich" among the owph. Deuteronomy 14 repeats exactly the same classification:

"The ostrich, the short-eared owl, the seagull, and the hawk after their kinds." (Deuteronomy 14:15, NKJV)

The significance is difficult to miss. God Himself places the ostrich within the Day 5 category of owph. That settles the question.

Conclusion

Ostriches may spend their lives running across the ground, but Scripture consistently classifies them as owph—winged creatures created on Day 5. And of course, they have wings.

Whether the original ostrich kind possessed true flight or whether it was designed from the beginning primarily as a runner remains an open question. The Bible does not explicitly answer it, and faithful Christians may hold different opinions because the Bible didn’t clarify on that question.

What Scripture does make clear is that ostriches belong among God's winged creatures. They possess wings, feathers, and all the characteristics of birds, even if they no longer fly.

Their existence reminds us that our present world is not exactly as God originally created it. Since the Fall, creation has experienced degeneration, loss, and the effects of the curse. Yet even in that fallen condition, ostriches display remarkable design, incredible speed, and fascinating features that testify to the wisdom, glory, and creativity of God.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.

*Images generated by ChatGPT