Lesser Rhea

Darwin’s Rhea (Pterocnemia Pennata), also known as the Lesser Rhea, is a large flightless bird in the family Rheidae, order Rheiformes, the smaller of the two extant species of rheas. It is native to South America and it is related to the ostrich and emu.

Darwin’s Rhea lives from Peru southward to Patagonia, at the tip of the continent. The Lesser Rhea is usually 90 to 100 cm tall; its length is 92 to 100 cm and its weight is 15 to 28 kg. It has a small head and a small bill, the latter measuring 6 to 9 cm, but it has long legs and a long neck.

Rheas are distinguished from ostriches by their three-toed feet (those of the ostrich have two), their lack of fine plumes, and their brownish colour. These birds frequent open, treeless country and evade predators by running. Darwin’s Rhea has relatively larger wings enabling it to run at a maximum speed of 60 km-h.

Darwin’s Rhea is smaller in size than the Common Rhea, and its brownish plumage is tipped with white, while the Common Rhea has brown or gray upper parts and whitish underparts. They are omnivorous and can utilize a wide variety of plant and animal foods. Males incubate the eggs and raise the young. These birds are polygamous and the male broods the eggs of several females laid in one nest. The females lay up to 50 eggs in a shallow, grass-lined nest dug by a male in the ground. He then incubates the eggs, and the chicks hatch in about six weeks and are herded about by the male for another six weeks thereafter.
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