RHEA

[rhea] n [NL, genus of birds, prob. fr. L Rhea, mother of Zeus, fr. Gk] (1797): either of two So. American ratite birds (Rhea americana and Pterocnemia pennata of the family Rheidae) that resemble but are smaller than the African ostrich and that have three toes, a fully feathered head and neck, an undeveloped tail, and pale gray to brownish feathers that droop over the rump and back