Greater Rhea

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Chris Packham presents the greater rhea roaming the South American pampas. Greater rheas are the largest birds in South America and look like small brown ostriches. They're flightless, but can avoid danger by sprinting away on sturdy legs reaching speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. Gauchos, the horsemen of the pampas, used to hunt them on horseback using a bolas; a well-aimed bolas would wrap around the rhea's legs or neck and bring it down in a tangle of feathers and limbs. In the breeding season males call loudly to proclaim territories, and to woo potential mates the male runs around erratically, spreading his wings and booming. He mates with several females who lay their eggs in the same nest. Then the females depart to mate with another male leaving the first male to incubate the clutch and rear the huge brood of chicks on his own.