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Rhea americana Pterocnemia pennata |
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The rhea is a large flightless bird that is found in the grasslands of South America. It belongs to the family of Rheidae. The ostrich and the emu are related to the rhea. The rhea stands about five feet tall, weighs fifty pounds, and has three toes. The male and the female have similar characteristics. The only real difference is that the male is slightly larger than the female. There are two kinds of rheas: the common rhea, Rhea americana , and the long billed rhea, Pterocnemia pennata. The common rhea has long, soft feathers of grayish or brownish color that droop over the hind part of its body. The long- billed rhea is somewhat like the common rhea except that it is smaller and darker. Rheas are able to reproduce when they are two or three years old. Their breeding season is between September and December, earlier in the north than in the south. Usually, there are fifteen to twenty eggs, which are thirteen cm (five inches) long in a clutch. Rhea eggs are different because they can change color. The males incubate the eggs over a forty-day incubation period. The chicks reach adult size in about half a year. Their meat is not tasty. Rhea wing feathers can be used as feather dusters, and their eggs can be eaten. |
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The rhea is very much like the ostrich. If you saw both of them standing right next to each other, you probably wouldn't know which one was which. One major difference between both the ostrich and the rhea is that the ostrich is a very fast runner, and the rhea is not. Another interesting fact about rheas is that adult rheas generally have no enemies except man. Carnivores and raptors hunt the young, but that is about it. Not just baby rheas, but adult rheas also, are usually hunted for sport. |
The common rhea lives on the grasslands of Brazil and Argentina. It can also live near brush covered land, by water, where it can both bathe and swim. The long- billed rhea is found from the mountains of Peru to the Strait of Magellan. For food, the rhea eats grasses, herbs (alfalfa, clover, serradella), leaves, roots, and sometimes insects. |
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The rhea protects itself in a very unusual way. It has keen eyesight and acute hearing. It has very large, strong legs and feet that help it run fast. The rhea jumps and kicks anything that tries to eat or harm it. It also uses its toenails to injure predators. Rheas don't live alone. They live in flocks of five to thirty. The flocks consist of one male and several hens. |
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The rhea's habitat is largely being reduced by fences enclosing cattle pastures. The farmers close these fences for their cattle so the rhea is not able to live there anymore. |
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Goetz, Philip W. "Rhea." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1988. Grzimek, Bernhard (ed.) "Rhea." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 1975. Johnston, Bernard (ed.) "Rhea." Collier's Encyclopedia. 1987. Pasquier, Roger F. "Rhea." The New Book of Knowledge. 1991. Wright, Nicolas (ed.) "Rhea." International Wildlife Encyclopedia. 1990.
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