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PHOTO BY Pablo Cacéres Names: SURI, Lesser Rhea, Rhea pennata, Pterocnemia pennata tarapacensis About the picture:
I took this photo in February 2009, about 5-7 km south of the Putana river in the Antofagasta Region of Chile.
This bird is often alone, which is rare because in the sector there is a little population, and frecuently seen only in the most arid area.
About the Lesser Rhea:
Rhea pennata occurs in three subspecies: pennata in south Chile, west-central and south Argentina, with an introduced population in north Tierra del Fuego; tarapacensis in north Chile; and garleppi in south Peru, south-west Bolivia and north-west Argentina. It is known locally by various names, depending on the location: For example suri, choique, ñandú petizo, or ñandú del norte.
The nominate subspecies inhabits steppe, shrubland, shrub-steppe and mallines (successional wetlands with bog, meadows and ponds), up to 1,500 m, generally breeding in upland areas with bunch-grass. The northern subspecies are found in desertic salt puna, pumice flats, upland bogs and tola (Lepidophyllum) heath in altiplano at 3,000-4,500 m.
The males of this species become aggressive once they are incubating eggs. The females thus lay the later eggs near the nest, rather than in it.The incubation period is 30–44 days. The eggs are 87–126 mm (3.4–5.0 in) and are greenish yellow. Outside the breeding season, Rhea pennata is quite sociable: it lives in groups of from 5 to 30 birds, of both sexes and a variety of ages.
Rhea penneta is Near Threatened, with the primary threats being hunting, egg-collecting, and fragmentation of its habitat due to conversion to farmland or pastures for cattle-grazing. The southern nominate subspecies remains relatively widespread and locally fairly common, but the situation for the two northern subspecies is more worrying, with their combined population estimated as being in the hundreds.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/141087/0
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3&m=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_Rhea
» 3 Comments
1Comment
at Wednesday, 27 January 2010 14:25
beautiful shot, love the warmth of the colour! Thank you so much Pablo and Michel for sharing this with us!
The bird is so very like our African Ostrich!
2Comment
at Thursday, 28 January 2010 08:18
oh wow! what a fantastic shot! i love it! thanks Pablo and Michel!!
3Comment
at Thursday, 28 January 2010 11:16
I wanted to say the same thing! It looks very similar to our Ostrich.
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