The feathers of the neck of the emeu are much longer than in the rhea; hence the neck seems shorter.
Incubation is apparently performed by the male, which sits from fifty-four to sixty-four days. Practically no nest is made, only a shallow hollow being scraped in the sand. The eggs, from seven to thirteen in number, are of a dark bottle-green colour, sometimes lighter, and have the surfaces curiously roughened. The male is smaller than the female, a fact which has led to some confusion, the larger female having at one time been regarded as the male. It will be noted that the emeus not only lack the brilliant colour of the cassowaries, but also the helmet, or casque.
The late Mr. Gould's remarks on the edibility of the emeu are interesting. He says: "Its flesh has been compared to coarse beef, which it resembles, according to Mr. Cunningham, both in appearance and taste, and is good and sweet eating; nothing, indeed, can be more delicate than the flesh of the young ones. There is little fit for culinary use upon any part of the emu, except the hindquarters, which are of such dimensions that the shouldering of the two hind legs homeward for a mile distance once proved to me as tiresome a task as I ever recollect to have encountered in the colony. I may remark that its flesh proved of the greatest service to Dr. Leichardt and his intrepid companions during their overland route from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, in the course of which, but more particularly between the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port Essington, the sight and capture of the emu was almost a daily occurrence; so abundant, in fact, was it, that he states that he saw in the short space of eight miles at least a hundred, in flocks of three, five, ten, and even more at a time. On the continent of Australia the emu was formerly abundant about Botany Bay and Port Jackson Harbour, but is now only to be seen in the plains of the interior, over whose solitudes it roams in great numbers, and where it breeds, depending on the strength and swiftness of its legs to avoid the pursuit of the stockmen and their dogs. Farther and farther back, however, will it be driven, until it be extirpated, unless some law be instituted to check its wanton destruction."
Photo by Robert D. Carson, Esq.] [Philadelphia.
MANTELL'S KIWI, NEW ZEALAND, NORTH ISLAND.
When feeding, the kiwi makes a sniffing sound, distinctly audible at some distance.
In a wild state emeus take readily to the water, and have on more than one occasion been seen swimming across a wide river. The South American rhea is also known to be a good swimmer.
The Common Emeu is restricted to Eastern Australia. The opposite side of this great continent is inhabited by another and very distinct species, known as the Spotted Emeu.
The Apteryx.