Word of the Day
Rhea (REE-uh)
· Common clues: Ostrich relative; Three toed bird; Perlman of "Cheers"; Ostrich look-alike
· Crossword puzzle frequency: 5 times a year
· Frequency in English language: 65207 / 86800
Rheas are large flightless birds native to South America. The name was given in 1752 by Paul Mohring; his reason for choosing this name, from classical mythology, is not known.
Rheas are polygamous, with males courting between two and twelve females. After mating, the male builds a nest, in which each female lays her eggs. The male incubates from ten to sixty eggs; the chicks hatch within 36 hours of each other. The females, meanwhile, may move on and mate with other males. While caring for the young, the males will charge at anyone — including humans and female rheas — who approaches the chicks.
Rheas are omnivorous, preferring broad-leafed plants, but also eating seeds, roots, fruit, insects, and small vertebrates.
Rhea Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress, best known for her role as Carla Tortelli on the popular sitcom Cheers. She is married to actor Danny DeVito. She received an unprecedented 10 Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Cheers ran 11 seasons). She won the Emmy four times. She later starred in the short-running sitcom "Pearl" as the title character, and was featured on the show "Kate Brasher."
These articles licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. They use material from the Wikipedia articles "Rheas" and “Rhea Perlman”.
|
|