Posts Tagged With: environment

Day #10 (1/17/2014) Greater Rhea

      We headed to the grasslands of Brazil to meet a relative of the ostrich. We were very excited, but we are getting tired and are ready to head back to HQs. Edmond’s oat and hay stew is yummy, but not after 3 nights. Hahaha! We found one last guide to take us out to meet a large flightless bird! We also saw a giant anteater out on the grasslands! We love anteaters and the Common Rhea!

• Their range and habitat: East-Southeast South America/ desert, grassland
• Their length/weight: 3-5 ft/33-66 lbs   Their status: near threatened
• They are omnivores (seeds, plants, fruits, lizards)

• Greater Rheas are large flightless birds.
• They have 3 toes.
• They live in groups.
• Greater rheas are grey/brown in coloration. The males are darker.
• Males do an impressive wing display during mating season.
• Male greater rheas take charge of the incubation of the egg.

What a wonderful afternoon! We watched a flock eat and rest and peck around! We even saw a male flapping his wings at some ladies. Breeding season must be coming soon! Too bad we will miss it. We’re packing up camp and have to run to catch the E&E plane back to HQs! Look for our new feature- University of E&E and Science Word of the Week on Sunday!

-Ellie and Edmond

Day #5 (1/10/14) – Meeting the Egyptian Goose

      We had a great time watching surfing hippos! We headed back to camp to find a local bird. We decided to stay in our safari vehicle to watch these birds as they are known to be aggressive. Do you have goose where you live? We have the Canadian variety and they can get very cheeky! We were so glad we packed our binoculars and snacks. An afternoon of bird watching can make an elephant and horse very tired.

Their range and habitat: lakes, rivers and ponds in Africa-South of the Sahara

Their length/weight: 25-29”/ 5 ½ lb  Their status: Common

They are omnivores (they eat seeds, plants, grasses, bugs).

• Egyptian Geese are the relative of the common ducks.
• Egyptian geese have bright orange long legs.
• Egyptian geese have dark coloration around the eye, with a bright orange spot.
• The males and females look the same, but the geese due vary some in color in different areas.
• They are very aggressive and territorial. Females can be extra territorial when they have eggs and chicks.

We had such fun watching the Egyptian geese play around, eat and make a raucous. Geese are funny birds. We’re packing our bags after this trip and heading back to HQs for the weekend! Check out the blog on Sunday- as our new feature- Science Word of the Week starts!

-Ellie and Edmond