RHEAS. 



561 



HEAD OF LONG-BILLED RHEA. 



(From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1860.) 



remainder of the under-parts are dirty white. The iris of the eye is pearl-grey, 

 the naked portion of the skin flesh-coloured, the beak horn-brown, and the leg 

 grey. In the female the feathers of the nape and front of the breast are somewhat 

 lighter in hue. The place of the ordinary species is taken in Eastern Patagonia by 

 the far less common Darwin's rhea {R. darwini), distinguished by its smaller size, 

 relatively shorter legs, which are feathered down to the ankle-joint, as well as by 

 the more mottled and 

 less uniformly coloured 

 plumage, and the pale 

 green eggs. Lastly, we 

 have the long - billed 

 rhea (R. Tnacrorhyncha) 

 of Northern Brazil, 

 which is also a small 

 form characterised by 

 its longer beak, larger 

 and more flattened head- 

 feathers, the longer 

 feathers of the body, 

 and the more slender 

 legs, as well as by the 

 general darker colora- 

 tion, which is brownish 

 grey mingled with black. 

 Fossil remains of rheas, some of which belong to existing species, are met with in 

 the caverns of Brazil and the superficial deposits of other districts of South America. 

 In general habits, rheas, although somewhat more gregarious, are 

 very similar to ostriches, and as thoroughly adapted for a life on 

 the South American pampas as are the latter for existence in the South African 

 veldt and karru. As a rule, each cock rhea associates with from five to seven 

 hens, which he carefully guards from the attentions of other members of his 

 kindred; although after the breeding-season such family-parties collect together 

 in flocks, which may reach a total of sixty or more head. Possessed of a speed but 

 little inferior to the ostrich, the rhea is further protected by the exactness with 

 which the general pale bluish grey hue of its plumage assimilates to the distant 

 haze, thus rendering it invisible even at a moderate distance. Its large form seems, 

 indeed, as Mr. W. H. Hudson remarks, to melt mysteriously out of sight into the 

 surrounding blue, so that the hunter strains his eyes in vain to distinguish it. 

 A truly noble bird when standing among the tall grasses of its native 

 pampas, the cock rhea summons his scattered consorts by a hollow booming 

 cry, probably not unlike that of the ostrich, accompanied by a kind of sighing 

 or hissing sound. When running from their pursuers, both sexes have the 

 curious habit of raising one wing above the back in a sail-like fashion. In 

 hot weather these birds will take readily to the water, not only standing in it 

 with their bodies submerged, but also swimming boldly, though slowly, with 

 their necks bent slightly forward and scarcely showing any portion of their 



VOL. IV. — 36 



Habits. 



