Greater Rhea Natural History
Size
Greater Rheas are South America’s largest birds weighing up to 30kg and standing between 1- 1.5 meters tall with males generally being larger than females.
Habitat and Distribution
Found mostly in south-eastern South America across Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in savannah, shrubland and grassland.
Age
The lifespan of a Greater Rhea is around 10 years in the wild or 15 years in captivity.
Diet
They are omnivores which mostly eat plant matter such as seeds, fruits, leaves and roots but will also eat small animals such as lizards and other birds. To help them break up food in their stomachs they will also swallow pebbles.
Groups and Breeding
These are very sociable birds and they like to live in groups of up to 30. Although, males tend to be solitary during the breeding season (August- January). Males are distinguishable by darker patches on their upper backs and necks. When the breeding season begins the females form smaller groups and the males start to fight over them and display with their wings. The males also produce a deep call during this time of courtship. Females lay up to five eggs per nest over a period of 7-10 days. Males are the ones to build the shallow nests and to incubate the eggs which takes around six weeks and then they care for the chicks alone, aggressively protecting them from anything that comes near.
Threats
This species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List with a population which is still declining. They are threatened largely by hunting and trapping for their meat and skins which are often exported. Their feathers are often used for feather dusters and they are traded internationally for the pet trade too. Conversion of their original grasslands for agriculture and cattle ranching has also had a big impact on these birds, greatly reducing and fragmenting their habitat.
Interesting Facts
Greater Rheas are flightless birds, instead they use their wings as rudders when running to help them out-manoeuvre predators.
The Rheas During Your Day Out in Kent
Here at the park we currently have two adult rhea which live with our Emu, Cutie. Their names are Caesar and Shakira, they have three chicks who also live with them. We do have a history with these birds and had a large group that lived in the top corner of the park some years ago. They joined us as juveniles in November 2022 and settled straight in.