Species Fact Profile: Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)

                                                                       Greater Rhea

Rhea americana (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Eastern South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay)

Habitat: Grassland, Open Woodland, Semi-Desert

Diet: Foliage, Seeds, Fruits, Insects, Small Vertebrates

Social Grouping: During the non-breeding season form flocks of up to 100 birds, breaking into smaller flocks in the winter, prior to breeding

Reproduction:  Breeding takes place during winter.   Males display for females using their outstretched wings, waving his head in a figure eight.  Males will breed with many females, all of which will deposit their eggs in a communal nest (a shallow scrape), which may contain up to 80 eggs from several females.  The male alone incubates the eggs (4-6 weeks) and cares for the hatchlings.  Chicks are sexually mature at about 14 months

Lifespan: 10-15 Years Wild, 30 Years Zoo

      Conservation Status: IUCN Near Threatened, CITES Appendix II

•       Largest living bird in the Americas.  Stand 1.4-1.7 meters tall and weigh 20-40 kilograms, with males being larger than females.  Ostrich-like body plan (sometimes called "South American ostriches") with long, powerful legs and long, slender neck topped with a small head.  Unlike the ostrich, it has three toes on each foot instead of two
•       Plumage is a drab grayish-brown, with black at the base of the neck.  Males are typically darker than females.  Hatchlings are grey with dark longitudinal stripes.  Leucistic (white plumage, blue eyes) birds are not uncommon, either in the wild or in captivity
•       Primarily silent outside of breeding season, when males make a loud booming call
•       Predators of adults include puma and jaguar.  Raptorial birds, grisons, and armadillos may take eggs and chicks.  Chicks are largely fearless of predators when born; efforts to reintroduce rheas into wild require efforts to teach them to avoid enemies
•       Breeding males will sometimes employ subordinate males to help them incubate their eggs and look after their chicks
•       A small feral population exists in Germany, descended from escapees from a farm in 2000.  Their population has reached over 500, and hunting and egg control is used to limit their numbers, considered something of an agricultural pest (still protected)
•       Five subspecies are redcognized, varying mostly based on variations and size and the extent of the black coloration on their throat, but are largely indistinguishable 
•       In decline due to hunting, especially from farmers who view them as competitors for grazing lands with livestock.  Some commercial farming for meat, eggs, leather, and oil (used in soaps and cosmetics)