Ratite

Ratite Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology (rt´t), common and general term for a variety of flightless birds characterized by a flat, raftlike sternum rather than the keeled sternum, designed to support flight muscles, typical of most birds.

Ratites in general share many physical characteristics, with the exception of the Family Tinamidae, or Tinamous. First, the breast-muscles are under-developed. They do not have a keeled sternum. Their wishbone (furcula) is almost absent.

Ratites: Cassowary ... Emus ... Kiwis ... Ostriches ... Rheas ... Tinamous ... Bird Care / Bird Stats Bird Books / DVDs Toys Cages Bird Gyms Bird Food ...

The ratite group includes such flightless birds as the emu, rhea, and kiwi. "Ratite" comes from the Latin word, ratita, a flat-bottomed boat (without a keel).

The emu is a ratite of Australia second in size among living birds only to Africa's ostrich. Emus are capable of running up to 30 m.p.h. when alarmed or threatened.

New fossil ratite (Aves: Palaeognathae) eggshell discoveries from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation of the United Arab Emirates, Arabian peninsula. Palaeontologia Electronica 9(2A):1-13. Bledsoe, A. H. 1988.

MOA, apparently the Maori name of the extinct Ratite birds in New Zealand, comprising the group Dinornithes (cf. Bird: Classification; and Ratitae).

The largest living birds are found among the ratites, all of which have lost the power of flight and have powerful legs for running. Largest of all is the ostrich, standing about 2.4 m (about 8 ft) high and weighing as much as 136 kg (300 lb).

The Kiwi is the smallest member of that group of birds called the ratites, the group that contains the world's largest birds, the emu, rhea, ostrich and cassowary, as well as the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar and the Moas of New Zealand.

The Kiwi is another member of the Ratite family of birds that includes: Cassowary, Emu, Ostrich, Rhea of South America and the extinct Moa. Flightless with only rudimentary wings and tailless, Kiwis are found only in New Zealand.

Flightless and Loving it: Their adaptation to a terrestrial life is extensive: like all ratites they have no keel on the breastbone to anchor wing muscles, ...

The rheas belong to a group of birds known as ratites which includes the Ostrich (Struthio camelus) from Africa, the Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) and Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) from Australia and kiwis (Apteryx spp.) from New Zealand.

Volume 1 Ratites to Ducks. Part B Australian Pelican to Ducks. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. NSW Scientific Committee (1998) Black-necked stork - Endangered species determination - final. DEC (NSW), Sydney. Pizzey, G. and Knight, F. (2003).

The emu is flightless, and like other "ratite" birds (large flightless birds including the ostrich, cassowary, rhea and kiwi) it does not have a keel, used in flighted birds for anchoring flight muscles.

They belong to the Ratite Family like the Emu, Ostrich, Rhea and Kiwi. They are fruit-eating (frugivore) animals that disperse over a hundred species of rainforest trees and vines.

Records Kiwis are the smallest ratite birds - the group that contains the ostrich, emu and the extinct moa. We've hundreds of animals to choose from. Please enter your keyword below. You can search for animals by their common or scientific name.

The Common Rhea (also called the Nandu) is a large, flightless bird from forests of South America. This ratite is the largest bird in the Americas. The common rhea is a fast runner; when it runs, its neck is almost horizontal to the ground.

The lesser rhea is a large bird belonging to a group of flightless birds known as ratites, which lack the keel of the breastbone to which the flight muscles attach in flying birds. However, rheas are not thought to be closely related to the other ...

Marchant, S. and Higgins, P. J. (1990) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds, 1: ratites to ducks. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Psittacosis can infect a variety of species including humans, birds, cows, cats, goats, sheep, and pigs. Among the bird species, it will infect just about anything with feathers including pet birds (psittacines), ratites, pigeons, poultry, ducks, ...

See also: Tinamou, Pigeon, Parrot, Flamingo, Penguin