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Greater Rhea (Rhea
americana)
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Brazil
The rheas belong to a group of birds known
as ratites which includes the Ostrich (Struthio camelus)
from Africa, the Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) and Emu
(Dromaius novaehollandiae) from Australia and kiwis
(Apteryx spp.) from New Zealand. It is interesting to note
that all these birds are flightless and that all the regions
mentioned used to form the ancient continent of Gondwanaland. The
rheas are also closely related to the tinamous.
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The Greater Rhea has many
similarities to the Ostrich but it is about half the height at
1.5 metres and it has a feathered rather than a bare neck.
Its behaviour is also similar. It will try
to escape predators by running and can suddenly
"disappear" by laying flat on the ground with its head
straight out in front. (Hence the putting head in sand
reference)
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Another
similarity is its breeding habits. The male will establish a
territory and build a nest on the ground. He will then attract a
group of about 3 to 6 females with whom he will mate and they
will then lay about 20 to 30 eggs in his nest. While the females
go off to mate with other males the male will incubate the eggs
and look after the chicks on his own (unlike ostriches where the
male shares brooding responsibilities with a female.) |
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The
Greater Rhea is classified as Near
Threatened (See Threatened Birds of the World, Page 630) or their
webpage here. I must say that I was pleasantly
surprised by the number of rheas that we saw while driving
through the monocultured soya deserts of Mato Grosso but they are
hunted for food and are regarded as a pest by some
farmers.
They
are also killed for their feathers which are used in feather
dusters to be sold mainly in Japan and the USA.
The
male gives out a low booming call which can carry some distance
during the mating season.
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