Description
The emu prefers and seeks a very nutritious diet. They take the parts of plants that have the most concentrated nutrients: seeds, fruits, flowers and young shoots. They also eat insects and small vertebrates when they are easily available, but in the wild they do not eat dry grasses or mature leaves even if they are all that is available.
- Emus eat large stones to help their gizzards grind up food. They also often eat charcoal.
- Dromaius novaehollandiae (Larger Emu)
- Native to Australia
- The emu is the second largest living bird.
Emus are large birds. The largest can reach up to 150 to 190 centimetres (59-75 in) in height, 1 to 1.3 metres (3.3-4.3 ft) at the shoulder. Emus weigh between 18 and 48 kilograms (40 and 106 lb).
They have small vestigial wings and a long neck and legs. Their ability to run at high speeds, 48 km/h (30 mph),is due to their highly specialised pelvic limb musculature. Their feet have only three toes and a similarly reduced number of bones and associated foot muscles; they are the only birds with gastronomies muscles in the back of the lower legs. The pelvic limb muscles of emus have a similar contribution to total body mass as the flight muscles of flying birds. They have a soft bill, adapted for grazing.
The neck of the Emu is pale blue and shows through its sparse feathers. They have brown to grey-brown plumage of shaggy appearance; the shafts and the tips of the feathers are black. Solar radiation is absorbed by the tips, and the loose-packed inner plumage insulates the skin. The resultant heat is prevented from flowing to the skin by the insulation provided by the coat, allowing the bird to be active during the heat of the day. A unique feature of the Emu feather is its double rachis emerging from a single shaft. The sexes are similar in appearance.
On very hot days, emus pant to maintain their body temperature, their lungs work as evaporative coolers and, unlike some other species, the resulting low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood do not appear to cause alkalosis. For normal breathing in cooler weather, they have large, multifolded nasal passages. Cool air warms as it passes through into the lungs, extracting heat from the nasal region. On exhalation, the Emu's cold nasal turbinate's condense moisture back out of the air and absorb it for reuse.
Their calls consist of loud booming, drumming, and grunting sounds that can be heard up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away. The booming sound is created in an inflatable neck sac that is 30 cm (12 in) long and thin-walled.
Belongs to the Ratite family of flightless birds which includes:
Ostrich
Emu
Rhea
Cassowary
Kiwi