Rhea
Rheidae sp.
Where is it found?
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Savannah, scrubland and forest
Diet and foraging method
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Pecking and probing the soil.
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Key adaptations
Large, powerful legs provide speed and agility on the ground. Reduced wings also help with this task, but consequently, Rheas cannot fly. In fact, they lack the bone which flight muscles attach to in other bird species.
Social organisation and mating system
Winter
Large flocks
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Males are often solitary and females move around in groups. Primarily polygynous, males attract between two to twelve females to mate with. Males incubate the eggs, which can be as many as fifty.
Did you know that...?
Rheas are the largest bird in South America and often congregate in mixed herds with other large animals, such as deer.
Taxonomy
Sources:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/greater-rhea/
http://www.arkive.org/lesser-rhea/rhea-pennata/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_(bird)
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Greater rhea close up" by Michael Palmer - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_rhea_close_up.jpg#/media/File:Greater_rhea_close_up.jpg
"Greater rhea pair arp" by Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone) - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_rhea_pair_arp.jpg#/media/File:Greater_rhea_pair_arp.jpg
http://www.arkive.org/lesser-rhea/rhea-pennata/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_(bird)
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Greater rhea close up" by Michael Palmer - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_rhea_close_up.jpg#/media/File:Greater_rhea_close_up.jpg
"Greater rhea pair arp" by Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone) - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater_rhea_pair_arp.jpg#/media/File:Greater_rhea_pair_arp.jpg
