278 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



insects or Crustacea. The female lays from three 

 to five large and beautifully shagreened green eggs 

 upon a bed of leaves, the male and female sitting 

 upon them alternately for about a month." It is 

 said, however, that in confinement the cock birds 

 incubate the eggs alone — a custom common to 

 Struthious birds. 



Passing on to the mainland of Australia, we find 

 the equally curious Emus, destined, we fear, soon 

 to become totally exterminated. Already the big 

 lonely birds have vanished from all the more 

 settled parts of the country, and as man penetrates 

 still farther afield, the last haunts must in the 

 course of time become depleted, if some means are 

 not devised for their protection. There are two 

 species of Emus known to science, and these are 

 the only members of the family Dromaoidse. The 

 first of these (Dromceus novce - hollandicB), is 

 apparently confined to South-eastern Australia, 

 having become extinct in the islands that dot Bass 

 Strait and in Tasmania. The second species 

 (Dromceus irroratus), is the representative of the 

 Emus in Western Australia. One very remarkable 

 characteristic of the Emus is the curious internal 

 bag or pouch connected with the windpipe. Its 

 use is not yet definitely known. It has been 



