Greater Rhea

These large flightless birds roam the open pampas and sparse woodlands of Argentina and Brazil.

The males have an elaberate breeding display, fanning his large wings, he attracks females who for up to ten days will lay eggs in his nest. The nest holds up to 50 eggs. He incubates the eggs of all his mates himself and cares for all the young. Males can weigh over 50 pounds, stand 6 feet tall, and have a lifespan of 15 years.

Rhea americana

Tying with Rhea Feathers

Another of the large flightless birds, the Rhea is native to South America. Rhea feathers differ from both emu and Ostrich. The wing plumes are long like those on an ostrich however the rachii is more flexable and the barbules are soft like emu.

They have been embraced by the spey fly community because of their availability, their cooperation in taking dyes well, and they create motion in the water. Needless to say they have many uses. Saltwater patterns have also made use of these feathers for deceivers, shrimp and squid patterns. Crafts people will also find many uses for these unique feathers.

plumes
fly patterns
links to other exotics

Plumes - Earth Tones

These are the wing plumes from breeding rheas. They range in size and barb lengh, so I've put small bundles together that include some of each. They are from captive bred birds so some of the feathers are not perfect but I've compensated for that by adding to the bundle.


natural	black	white	heron grey	plum


burnt orange	brown	dk brown	olive	yellow olive


charcoal	claret	straw	dunn	lt dunn

Plumes - Bright Colors

As i mentioned above, these are the wing plumes from captive bred birds in breding plumage. These have been dyed to a variety of bright colors and are great for either steelhead or saltwater flies.