| Darwin's Rhea | ||||||||||||||
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| Rhea pennata d'Orbigny, 1834 |
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R. darwini |
Darwin's Rhea (Rhea pennata), also known as the Lesser Rhea, is the smaller of the two extant species of rhea at 90 to 100 centimeters (3 ft to 3 ft 4 in) tall, and has larger wings than other ratites, enabling it to run particularly well. It can reach speeds of 60 km/hour, enabling it to outrun predators. The sharp claws on the toes are effective weapons. The males of this species become aggressive once they are incubating eggs. The females thus lay the later eggs near the nest, rather than in it. Most of the eggs are moved into the nest by the male, but some remain outside, where they rot and attract flies. The male, and later the chicks, eat these flies. Outside the breeding season, Darwin's Rhea is quite sociable: it lives in groups of from 5 to 30 birds, of both sexes and a variety of ages. Darwin's Rhea lives in areas of open scrub in the grasslands of Patagonia and on the Andean plateau, through the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.[1] There are two subspecies besides the nominate, the Puna Rhea (R. p. garleppi) and R. p. tarapacensis.[1]
References
- ^ a b c BirdLife International (2004). Pterocnemia pennata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.
