Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) (28234029614)🐦

Photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 2.0

SpeciesRheiformesRheidae
Birds

🐦Greater Rhea

Rhea americana (Linnaeus, 1758)

The greater rhea is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú. One of two species in the genus Rhea, in the family Rheidae, it inhabits a variety of open areas, such as grasslands, savanna or grassy wetlands. Weighing 20–27 kilograms (44–60 lb), the greater rhea is the largest native bird in the Americas. In the wild, the greater rhea has a life expectancy of 10.5 years. It is also notable for its reproductive habits, and for the fact that a population has established itself in Northern Germany in the 2000s and 2010s. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
2
Measurements
10
vs you
≈ a third of your weight
Also called
Common Rhea
Conservation status
NTNear threatened

IUCN Red List assessment, 2022.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
23 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
not recorded
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Greater Rhea

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
23 kg
AVONET
Other figures ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 23 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: low
Tail length
0.06 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Wing length
0.6 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Beak length
0.09 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tarsus length
0.31 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Gestation
36 days
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: low

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
Omnivore
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Habitat
Grassland
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Lifestyle
Terrestrial
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
23 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Greater Rhea yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classAves
  4. ›orderRheiformes
  5. ›familyRheidae
  6. ›genusRhea
  7. ›speciesRhea americana
Full lineage
  1. classBirds · Aves
  2. orderRheiformes
  3. familyRheidae
  4. genusRhea
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. classBirds · Aves
  10. superorderPalaeognathae
  11. orderRheiformes
  12. familyRheidae
  13. genusRhea
More

More about the Greater Rhea

In other languages
Ema (pt), Nandu (da), Rhea americana (es), Nandu (de), レア (ja), Rhea americana (it) … and 24 more languages
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