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This was fitting with the rhea being a flightless ground bird. Depending on the South American region, the rhea is known locally as ñandú guazu ( Guaraní –or related Tupi nhandú-gûasú – meaning "big spider" [ 5 ] most probably concerning their habit of opening and lowering alternate wings when they run), [ citation needed ] ema ...
Flightless birds are birds that cannot fly, as they have, through evolution, lost the ability to. [1] There are over 60 extant species, [2] including the well-known ratites (ostriches, emus, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwis) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7
The basal metabolic rate of flighted species is much higher than that of flightless terrestrial birds. [34] But energetic efficiency can only help explain the loss of flight when the benefits of flying are not critical to survival. Research on flightless rails indicates the flightless condition evolved in the absence of predators. [35]
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National Geographic's Ed Yong says Cooper's research supports a newer theory about the flightless bird family: that they "evolved from small, flying birds that flapped their way between continents ...
Darwin's rhea or the lesser rhea (Rhea pennata) is a large flightless bird, the smaller of the two extant species of rheas. It is found in the Altiplano and Patagonia in South America . Description
Rheidae / ˈ r iː ɪ d iː / is a family of flightless ratite birds which first appeared in the Paleocene. [2] It is today represented by the sole living genus Rhea, but also contains several extinct genera. [3]
The greater rhea is a silent bird except during mating season, when they make low booming noises, and as chicks, when they give a mournful whistle. [4] During the non-breeding season they will form flocks of between 10 and 100 birds. When in flocks, they tend to be less vigilant, but the males can get aggressive towards other males.