Common Rhea ( Rhea americana )
Common Rhea - Common Rhea information - Common Rhea facts
The Greater Rhea belongs to flightless birds, because of its enormous size. It is spread in South America in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay. There it can be found in pampas and wooded areas.
The Common rhea also known as the Greater rhea is a large bird with the size of 140 cm (55 inches). As already mentioned with its size it is not possible for him to fly. Despite that it can reach the speed of 60 km per hour (37mph). Its wings are very large as well. There is a sharp claw on each wing that can cause a serious injury. They have got a long neck and are brown colored. Their feathers cover a major part of their body however they have got bare feet. On foot there are three toes. The Greater Rhea is very agile and a flexible animal thank to its leg muscles. This enables him to run at a very fast pace and turn quickly while running in order to avoid predators. The females - the hens, are lighter in color and smaller in size.
During the breeding process, plenty of hens are attracted to the male’s nest, which is basically a scrape on the ground, and lay down their legs. The egg’s color is golden at the beginning, but as the time passes by it gets white. There are approximately 15-30 eggs in the nest. The male bird - the cock, incubates the eggs, which all hatch within a day and cares for them. Its offspring – young chicks start following their father afterwards. The young chicks grow very fast and reach the adult size usually at the age of four months. They are omnivorous. Rhea Americana is able to breed after reaching the age of two years.
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