Amica's World How a Giant Bird Came into Our Heart and Home

Amica is a rhea—a flightless bird in the ratite family, related to ostriches, emus, and kiwis. Amica was adopted as a young chick and in turn quickly adopted mother and son Meadow and Washo Shadowhawk as his flock and made himself at home in their living room.

Now an adult, Amica stands nearly six feet tall, and has a six-foot wingspan. By day he roams the backyard, exploring, running, and building nests, along with his friends the chickens and the dog. At night, he watches television and sleeps in the living room with his friend the cat.

What's it like living with a rhea? As you'll discover in the words and photos in this book, it is never boring, and requires massive sacrifices. Rheas, which are typically hunted or raised as livestock, are highly intelligent and expressive, with a humanlike range of emotions. Amica’s extraordinary story shows the powerful and surprising connections that can be forged between humans and animals.

Washo Shadowhawk has been working with and helping animals from a very young age. At the age of 14 Dr. Jane Goodall recognized his work doing outreach to zoo primates and nominated him for the IDA Youth Guardian Award, which he won. He was featured on the Animal Planet movie “Jane Goodall’s Heroes” as one of her heroes and was the recipient of the Gloria Barron Prize for young heroes. He lives in Beaverton, Oregon where he is a photographer and runs a rescue operation for exotic reptiles and birds.

Meadow Shadowhawk is Washo’s mother. She has a background as a veterinarian technician and enjoys working with animals. She shares Washo’s love of nature and Meadow Shadowhawk is Washo’s mother. She has a background as a veterinarian technician and also enjoys working with animals. She shares Washo’s love of nature and has always supported his love of animals.

Dr. Jane Goodall is the world's preeminent primatologist, the founder of the nonprofit Roots & Shoots global youth-led community action program, and the author of numerous books, including Reason for Hope.