An average sized Rhea weighs about 50.6 lbs. The Rhea is brown and gray and some people think it looks like the ostrich or the emu. They eat small birds, insects, frogs or lizards but their favorite food of choice is fruit or vegetables. This makes this bird an omnivore which is a meat and plant eater.

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Some people think that just because they are a bird they have to fly but they are wrong because the Greater Rhea does not fly, just like the ostrich. Also, the Rhea is really tall and has big legs. The Rheas live in grasslands and avoids open places due to predators. They are good swimmers that enjoy bathing in marshes. They do well in their ecosystem because where ever they live at is always an open grassy land.

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Another reason why they do well in their ecosystem is because of all their food resources such as; plants, clovers, seeds, roots, fruits, insects, grasshoppers, lizards, frogs, small birds and snakes. The Rheas are found in Pampas, Campos, and Cerrado of South America.

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There are about 10,000 to 20,000 Rheas left in the world. They are shrinking because farmers will kill them when they see them eating their crops. Predators feed on their eggs, and also there are hunters trying to kill them because their feathers are used for dusters in Japan and the US. They are now making it a law to stop killing the Rheas due to their sudden decrease in population.

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The Rhea americana plays an important part of the food web as it feeds on insects, lizards, frogs, plants and clovers making this animal an omnivore. A food web shows the different connection of food chains within a community. In this community the Rhea americana would sit in the middle below carnivores and above herbivores. Because they live in grasslands and marshes they fall prey to alligators that are primary meat eaters, (carnivores).

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They are a flightless bird with keen eyesight that has many feathers that allows them to fight off prey. Their long massive legs give them great speed to outrun predators. The Rhea competes for food with other birds, such as wren’s, hawks, and ducks to name a few. I thought this animal was interesting because of their massive legs and also how they are flightless. From now on, whenever I use a feather duster I’ll think twice about where these feathers have come from. I hope that in the future that instead of the Rheas declining they will increase. Also, I can’t wait until they make it a law where hunters can’t kill the Rheas.

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Author: Cameron K

Published: 02/2007

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Bibliography http://www.fws.gov/jclarksalyer/grass3.htm http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts /information/Rhea_americana.html